MAIDUGURI -The deputy governor of Borno State,Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha,the Shehu of Borno,Alhaji Abubakar Umar Garbai El-Kanemi and other dignitaries narrowly escaped death yesterday when a 15-year old suicide bomber struck at the Shehu’s Palace Mosque moments after the jumat prayers. The Shehu , a hugely popular symbol of Islamic tradition in the North ,appeared to be the prime target of the hitman.
Five other worshippers including the bomber were however killed in the latest attack in a region plagued by insurgency by the Islamist sect,Boko Haram.
In a separate incident,unknown gunmen murdered the education secretary of Marte Local Government in the state,AlhajiAbacha Abbas.
“Five people have been killed and six others injured in the Maiduguri central mosque suicide bomb attack,” military spokesman Sagir Musa told reporters.
“The suicide bomber, who was about 15 years old, was pushed between me and the Shehu before detonating the bomb. Fortunately we both escaped unhurt,” Mustapha told reporters.
“It was God that saved me and the Shehu, otherwise we would have been dead by now.
“I heard a loud blast and it dawned on me that the young man had detonated a bomb. Luckily neither me nor the Shehu was injured, but our robes were splattered with human flesh and blood,” Mustapha said.
Two soldiers assigned to guard the traditional ruler were “critically injured” in the attack.
The deputy governor and the Shehu were immediately whisked away from the scene by security men.
Armed soldiers and policemen soon cordoned off the area.
Spokesman for the Joint military Task Force (JTF)in the state,, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said: “At about 1410 hours a suicide bomber strapped with explosives detonated bombs very close to the Shehu of Borno and the deputy governor of Borno State and their entourage immediately after the Juma’at congregational prayer.
“The JTF troops attached to the Shehu’s palace prevented the bomber from getting to the Shehu and the deputy governor.”
Boko Haram,using guns and bombs , has killed hundreds of people this year in separate attacks in Kano,Kaduna,Borno,Yobe,Bauchi and Plateau states.
Targets include government officials, religious figures and places of worship, usually churches.
Security experts believe Boko Haram’s attacks on religious centres in central and northern Nigeria are an attempt to provoke wider religious conflict in the country.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for attacks that killed more than 100 people in Plateau State last weekend.Among the victims were Senator Gyang Dantong and the majority leader of the state House of Assembly,Mr.Gyang Fulani who were attending the mass burial of those killed by Fulani gunmen on Saturday.
The murder of Alhaji Abbas took place at about 3 o’ clock yesterday at his residence in old Maiduguri.
He was killed by a gang of three men.
He was also the founder of Abbas Memorial School named after his late father.
His corpse was taken to the morgue of the Maiduguri Specialist hospital by members of the Joint Military Task force in the metropolis.
Senate President David mark condemned the attack which he described as callous.
Attack on places of worship, he said , is not only ungodly but "a huge sacrilege."
"The attack on the Shehu's Mosque has shown that Boko Haram itself is not helping to propagate Islam contrary to the messages that had been churned out by the sect," the Senate President added.
He commiserated with government and people of Borno State and advised Nigerians to be security conscious.
He urged Nigerians to continue to provide information that would quell the activities of the Boko Haram sect to security agencies even as he called on those responsible for these murderous acts to have a rethink and accept dialogue
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