At least 118 people were killed in a double bombing in Jos on May 20, with the first bomb detonated at 3pm, the second around half an hour later in a busy market area; then on May 21 Boko Haram gunmen attacked two villages in southern Borno State, killing over 40 people.
On May 18, at least five people were killed in a blast in the predominantly Christian Sabon Gari district of Kano in the North. A girl aged around 12 was among those killed. Kano police said five people – including the bomber – died in the blast, but Christian sources put the death toll at around 20.
Islamist militant group Boko Haram is suspected of carrying out the attacks.
Original target
A church leader in Kano, the Revd Murtala Marti, said that three churches in the Sabon Gari area were probably the original target: ‘Most often the plot is to get at churches, but when it becomes impossible for the terrorists to get there, they usually detonate their bombs anywhere Christians are gathered, either in churches or restaurants.
The latest bombings come as the translation of a one-hour video by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was released in which he said: ‘This is a war against Christians and democracy and their constitution. Allah says we should finish them [off] when we get them’.
