While the Black Friday’ in most parts of the world kept smiles on faces as prices of goods fell below expectation, ‘Black Friday’ in the ancient city of Kano was in the reverse as the bomb attack on the ancient city Central Mosque, killed no fewer than 150 worshippers.
The 10,000 capacity worship centre, where the Emir, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, usually leads prayers came under heavy attacks by some persons suspected to be Boko Haram militants.
DAILY POST gathered that 10 gunmen opened fire at worshippers trying to escape from the scene of the blast.
The emir was said to have travelled to Saudi Arabia late on Thursday night from Paris and was lucky not to be at the prayer centre.
Speaking with DAILY POST on phone Saturday morning, a rescue officer confirmed that his team had evacuated over 150 bodies after the blast at about 7 pm on Friday.
“The report I got from my rescue team in Kano as at 19:00 GMT is that over 150 bodies have been rescued from the crash scene. The rescue operation is still ongoing and we promise to keep you posted,” the officer said.
However, eyewitnesses said the incident happened just as residents were getting set for Friday’s Juma’at prayers.
“The attackers have bombed the mosque. I saw people screaming,” a local reporter who resides in Kano, Chijjani Usman, told Reuters.
Another eyewitness told the British Broadcasting Corporation that he had counted over 50 bodies immediately after the blasts.
One eyewitness, who spoke with the BBC’s Focus on Africa, said, “The imam was about to start prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force himself into the mosque. But when people stopped him, he detonated the explosions. People started running helter-skelter.”
Another worshipper, Aminu Abdullahi, who also spoke to AFP, said, “Two bombs exploded, one after the other, in the premises of the Grand Mosque seconds after the prayers had started.”
“A third one went off in a nearby road close to the Qadiriyya Sufi order. The blasts were followed by gunshots by the police to scare off potential attacks.”
Meanwhile, two suspected bombers were said to have been arrested at the scene of the incident.
DAILY POST reports that President Jonathan who had already condemned the unfortunate incident has called for thorough investigation into the blast.
The Palace of Emir of Kano was yet to react to the incident at the moment.
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