An interstate procession by followers of Zaria-based Shitte preacher, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky turned bloody yesterday following an attack by suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers at Samawa village in Garun Malam Local Government area of Kano State.
No fewer than 21 members of the Shitte sect were feared killed and many others wounded in the attack.
El-Zakzaky himself was not in the procession.
The Shitte members had stopped over in the village to observe the jumat prayers when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) apparently carried by one of the two infiltrators went off, maiming and killing people.
Sources said that the suicide bombers sneaked into the crowd, “and one of them blew himself in the midst of the crowd.”
“I counted up to 21 dead bodies of children, women and men while many of our members were seriously injured.”
Security agents responded immediately and evacuated the dead and the wounded to government hospitals in the city.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Musa Katsina, who confirmed the incident on the telephone, said a man suspected to be an accomplice of the dead suicide bomber was arrested and is currently in police custody.
The CP said: “The truth is that they were not able to carry out the dastardly act in Kano because of the tight security situation.
“They were two suicide bombers who infiltrated the procession. One of them was caught while the other person blew himself up. I cannot ascertain the number of casualty for now because we are still at the scene of the incident.”
The police boss urged residents to move about their normal business as security agencies are in control of the situation.
“Security is everybody’s business and I call on residents to feed police with useful information.”
Spokesman for the Shitte sect, Malam Aliyu Yusuf Kakaki, confirmed the death of 21 people in the explosion, while over forty people were wounded.
He said that the sect was “unperturbed by the action of the enemy.”
The sect members were on their way to Zaria from Kano in commemoration. We have proceeded with our journey to Zaria and we have prayed that Allah will grant the dead forgiveness and give them a place in paradise.”
The long walk by the Shitte members from Kano to Zaria was in commemoration of tribulation and killing of Imam Husain (AS), son of the Holy Prophet’s daughter Fatima, by forces of Yazid son of Mu’awiyyah.
The muslim group departed Kano on Thursday afternoon for Zaria.
The suicide bomber attack is the latest in the travails of El-Zakzaky and his followers.
In July last year, three sons of El Zakzaky’s and 23 other members of the sect were killed during a clash between the sect members and soldiers at Sabon-Gari in Zaria, Kaduna State
