Police uncover bomb in Kano mosque (Bombs in churches explode while those in Mosque are uncovered)

Posted by admin Headlines, Kano, State News Saturday, June 23rd, 2012

Tragedy was averted in the Kano metropolis on Friday when the police uncovered a bomb planted in Fagge Juma’at Mosque.

Fagge mosque located on Murtala Muhammad Way in WAPA area of Fagge Local Government is rated second among the big Eid (Sallah prayer) mosques in Kano.

It is beside Fagge Police Division, one of the popular police locations in the city.

The prompt discovery averted what could have been described as the bloodiest terrorist attack in the city since the last Jan 20 coordinated bomb and gun attacks in the city.

Three suspected Boko Haram members were arrested by the police for planting explosives in the mosque.

The suspected bombers had concealed the high volume Improvised Explosive Device in a plastic bag and entered the mosque undetected.

They afterwards neatly planted the bomb in the prayer house with capacity of about 15,000 worshipers inside and another 50,000 in its surroundings.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, confirmed that three suspects were arrested within the mosque’s vicinity.

He said, “The person that planted the explosive came inside the mosque before the prayer time.

“He concealed the explosive in a plastic container, dropped it, sat down, picked a Koran and pretended to be reciting verses from the Holy Book.

“After some minutes, he went outside, came in again, sat in the same position and pretended to be reading the Holy Book.

“After a while, he went outside, abandoned the plastic and never returned. At this point, the mosque committee suspected the plastic container and alerted the police.

“When the anti-bomb squad arrived at the mosque, they brought the plastic container outside, checked the content and discovered it was an explosive; and they immediately defused it,” the CP said.

However, Idris advised residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement or strange item dumped anywhere to security agents.

“People should be very careful even in the mosque and churches.

“Worshipers should not be allowed to come inside places of worship with strange materials,” he further advised.wp_posts