25 Dead, 32 Injured In Zaria Blast

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Bomb blast

By Ibrahim Imam, Kaduna.

The Kaduna state government has confirmed 25 persons dead and 32 others injured in the Zaria bomb explosion that hit the town earlier today.

A statement by the media aide to the state governor Mr. Samuel Aruwan,

Governor of Kaduna state, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai said 25 death have so far been recorded and 32 others are injured, adding that the injured are being treated at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria.

El-Rufai had reported the killing of 20 persons moments after the incident via a tweet.

The Zaria attack came hours after a suicide bomb attack at a Mosque in Kano on Monday in which two persons died.

Earlier on Sunday, similar explosions killed 44 people in Jos, Plateau State, while six persons were killed at a church in Potiskum, Yobe State, by a suicide bomber same day.

The Tuesday Zaria’s blast occurred at the local government secretariat where civil servants’ screening was going on.

A statement by the media aide to governor El-Rufai, Mr Samuel Aruwan, expressed its sadness at this mindless attack on our citizens. It has condoled with the victims and is coordinating the treatment of the survivors.

“The city of Zaria today suffered a terrible act of infamy. Terrorists detonated explosives that killed and injured several persons at the secretariat of the Sabon-Gari local government council. The casualty count as at 12 noon is 25 fatalities, including a two-year old child.

“Thirty-two injured persons are being treated at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria and other hospitals in the city.

“The blast went off as the residents welcomed the new chairman of the interim management committee of the local government to his office at the secretariat. Some local government staff from Lere and Ikara were also undergoing biometric verification at the venue.

“He condemned the attack as an inhuman act of terror, and he urged the people of Kaduna State as a whole to be vigilant, even as they preserve the peace. The governor said residents of the state should promptly report all suspicious persons and activities to the security agencies and community leaders.

“The governor further announced the deployment of extra security forces across the state. Malam El-Rufai urged the people of the state to shun large gatherings but, where that is impossible, to exercise and practise maximum vigilance and vigorous checks on persons, vehicles and luggage.

“The state government will announce further steps to strengthen our security and safety in the next few days, and call on our people to cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies in these trying times,” the statement added.