The rise of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria can most assuredly be deemed a consequence of the ‘Arab Spring’. At minimum, the radically fundamentalist group is emboldened to murder innocent non-Muslims. It’s now blowing up packed buses full of innocent Christians and the death toll is mounting.
Initial reports indicated that two suicide bombers drove a car packed with explosives into a bus at the New Road station in Sabon Gari, a predominantly Christian neighbourhood in the majority Muslim city.
Several explosions were heard following the initial blast, sparking panic as bloodied bystanders including some with serious injuries fled the scene as soldiers arrived to cordon off the area.
Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s north, was repeatedly targeted by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, blamed for killing hundreds in the region since 2009.
“I saw three buses on fire. One of them was fully loaded with passengers waiting to leave the station at the time of the blasts … There are at least 20 dead,” said the rescue official who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to journalists.
“The figure may rise,” he added. A senior security official in Kano, who also declined to be named, said he believed the death toll was “massive”, describing the figure of 20 as an “understatement”, without giving a precise toll.
BBC is also reporting the death toll is much greater than what is being reported:
One eyewitness told the BBC that he had seen 20 bodies after Monday’s blasts.
Several witnesses told Reuters that one of the buses targeted was full when the explosion happened, and was completely destroyed.
“I ran for my dear life and managed to get out of the park after the second blast,” one witness told the news agency. “Many people are lying dead.”
So why is the uber-racist group indiscriminately slaughtering innocent Christians?
The group is fighting to overthrow the Nigeria government and create an Islamic state.
It is also believed to have a presence in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Do you think Christians in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad are right to have Islamophobia?