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A LARGE BLAST ripped through a busy mobile phone market in Nigeria’s biggest northern city, Kano, on Wednesday, two traders told AFP, a day after more than 30 were killed in the northeast city of Yola.
Police are saying this afternoon that as many as 15 people could have been killed in the blast.
Traders Nafiu Mohammed and Suleiman Haruna said the explosion happened at the Farm Centre market shortly after 4.00pm (3.00pm Irish time) and rescuers were on the scene dealing with casualties.
“I was preparing for the afternoon prayers when there was an explosion deep inside the market at exactly 4.10 pm,” said Mohammed.
“Police officers from a nearby police station mobilised to the scene while traders in confusion locked up their shops and moved out of the market.
“We are now at a distance while the rescue vehicles are taking the victims to hospital. We have no idea of the number of casualties.”
Officers fired warning shots as a deterrent for people to stay back from the market, which is typically packed with traders and shoppers.
Haruna also said it was not clear how many people had been affected but he added: “I saw ambulances leaving the market.”
Nearly 1,500 people have been killed in northern and northeast Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on May 29, according to an AFP tally.
Buhari has given his military commanders until next month to bring Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency to an end but there has been waves of bombings, mainly against civilian “soft” targets.
Yesterday evening, at least 32 people were killed and some 80 others injured in an explosion at a packed lorry park in the Adamawa state capital, Yola.
It was the first suspected Boko Haram attack in Nigeria since a twin suicide attack in Yola on October 23 and revived fears of a fresh round of carnage.
Kano has been relatively spared from the violence in the last six months, a fact attributed in part to its security network using local networks of traditional chiefs and the security agencies.
On July 6, a girl thought to be aged just 13 blew up outside a mosque in the city, killing only herself.
In November last year, at least 120 people were killed and 270 others wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire during weekly prayers at Kano’s Grand Mosque.
The attack is thought to have been revenge for traditional leader the Emir of Kano’s earlier call for citizens to take up arms against the Islamist militants.
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We truly live in a time of monsters.
Maybe the apologists can explain how this is related to western policies in the Middle East.
You’re just full of love aren’t you.
I love freedom. I love living the life I want to live. I love being able to eat pork, drink as much alcohol as I want. I love the fact that all of the women I know can dress how they want, drive if they want and are not just some man’s property.
As a matter of fact, yes I am full of love.
Boko Haram are tied in with ISIS and kill as many if not more than ISIS. They follow the same ideology of ISIS although they have come up with some of their own batshit ideas like the world is oval and there is no such thing as the water cycle. Like it or not, what happens in the ME also reflects on N Africa and down into West and East Africa. ISIS is trying to consolidate all Islamic militants under one banner or caliphate irrespective of Western drawn borders. Their mantra is if you hit one muslim then you hit all muslims so what happens int the Middle East affects all other areas with terror groups.
Actually the earth is kind of oval. Snackbar!
This world is a sick place.
If this had happened “elsewhere”, there would be outrage and 24 hour Sky News coverage. As it’s not “elsewhere”, it hardly gets a mention. Maybe “some people” are deemed more important than “other people”?
Nah, Nigeria is a warzone. Stuff like this happens every day. It also lacks any cultural ties with us and is half way across the world.
No, its how news values work.
No what it says is “we’re more important in the West” don’t pretend it’s not.. Humans are $cum
“It’s how news values work ” for example is something happened in America it would get just as much news coverage as France. America is a different continent! But yet because this attack happened in Africa it’s deemed less important.
No it doesn’t, it says It’s not as relevant! Do any of you feel any less or more sympathy for these people? I don’t, I think it’s just as horrible but the big difference is this attack is not going to have the same far reaching consequences for me as the attacks in Paris. You can bet these attacks are getting more coverage in Nigeria than incidents “elsewhere”! Well, that’s what I think anyway.
Agree!!
When the horriffic event that was the Omagh bombing occurred, it was quite rightly given prominence in the Irish and UK media for quite some time. Because there were also Spanish victims, the Spanish media too.
The further you get from Ireland (actual and relation-ary) the less time events like that spend in the media “light”.
It has absolutely nothing to do with tin-foil hats.
Also agree!!
Even TV/C barely report on attacks in N.E. Nigeria anymore. Apart from it being risky to travel to and report from there’s an incident like this every week. It’s a bit like during the height of the troubles here and the tit for tat killings Eventually they barely made the news on the BBC and were lucky to be mentioned on the headlines here. News by it’s nature is only news when it’s something outside the norm. A bomb in N.E. Nigeria is unfortunately a fairly common event where as an attack in a western city is not. A fairly good example of it working in the other direction would be college campus shootings in the US. Even The Journal just brushes over them unless it’s a mass shooting and even then it rarely makes news the next day.
% or Irish travelling to France regularly v’s % travelling to Nigeria?
But if you want to follow west-african news and events in detail, there’s loads on freeview.
I’m glad my comment started such a good debate. I was stating a fact and asking a question.
Fact: This attack got nowhere near as much coverage as the Paris attack. The Paris attack attracted world-wide outrage and media coverage.
Question: Are “some people” are deemed more important than “other people”?
Is it not the fact that this incident happened in Africa in an area where these attacks are quite frequent and people are both black and poor make it less of an outrage? I don’t think so. In many ways it’s worse as there is little that Governments can do in poorer nations to stem these attacks and so these people are living in constant fear. I’m not belittling the attack in Paris, but questioning our own (mine included) perceptions of what we, as a human race see as worthy of our combined attention and actions.
Worldwide coverage does actually go beyond european coverage. Are you stating witch certainty that the same coverage was given across africa, south america and asia?……in the us it looks like charlie sheen topped it.
How about a huge African force go in and wipe out Boko haram once and for all instead of blaming Europe for everything. Guess what France was not involved in the Iraq war either
Dream of all these Islamic terrorist groups is to attach Israel In the meantime they kill each other and try and establish an Islamic state They really would much prefer to be killing Jews but can’t get to them as Israel can defend itself
Absolute tragedy! My heart goes out to Nigeria and all those families who have been torn apart. What’s also sad will be the lack of coverage of this high profile attack in the media.
Well. The media exists due to individuals like us taking in the news. We are the main drivers. We live in Europe. Hence we get better coverage of the European terror attacks here.
Muslim and nigerian. Wonder how many of that winning combo are on the scratcher here in free housing.
Well done for highlighting this.Nigeria probably should split up but not before alot of bloodshed.How about some Yemen stories ? It’s shocking what’s going on and how underreported it is.
I would like to see the worlds reaction to an attack killing 132 in an african/ middle eastern country
How bout its own neighbouring countries first
Three was recently large attack in Turkey, very similar scale to one in Paris, think 90+ people died. It got maybe 2 articles in European media. Re Paris there was 2 articles but every hour.
I don’t recall also Facebook profiles with Turkish support flags. Hypocrisy much?
Islam needs to be banned in whole Europe and terrorists like in Nigeria needs to be eradicated by proper army, sadly there is no oil so no business for anybody to intervene.
No oil in Nigeria….? Oh dear
Duff I worded it badly they have crude oil but USA is not interested in buying it!
I think he means Nigeria’s oil is in the delta/south..the predominantly Christian half…Boko Haram cause ructions in the Muslim,oiless north.
Why are we so selective with sympathy for certain nations?? I abhor all violence no matter who it is aimed at. Think about that!
Orla, do you feel the same level of sympathy to a victim of a road traffic accident from your town as you would from somebody from the other side of the country?
It’s human nature to feel more towards your neighbour than a stranger. It doesn’t make one incident more or less tragic than the other one.
I feel terribly sad about these horrible and horrific incidents no matter where in the world they happen. It’s just Paris, London, Madrid and even New York are closer to home.
have your say