Suicide bomber leaves 40 dead at Kaduna verification centre

Firstclass newsline~Confusion enveloped Dogarawa in Sabon Gari Local
Government Area, a few kilometres from Zaria City, on Tuesday after a
female suicide bomber detonated an Improvised Explosive Device,
killing no fewer than 40 people while scores sustained varying degrees
of injuries.
The deaths as well as those critically injured were taken to the St.
Luke Hospital, Wusasa and the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching
Hospital, Shika, both in Zaria.
Eyewitness said a verification of staff was in progress at the
secretariat when the explosion occurred.
According to the source, the female suicide bomber joined the queue
of staff, pretending to be part of the workers before detonating the
explosive, killing over 30 people, including herself, instantly.
The exercise, it was gathered, coincided with the inaugural address by
the new Chairman, Interim Management Committee of the local
government.
Firstclass newsline also learnt that most of the victims were female
primary school teachers from Kubau, Lere, Sabon Gari local
governments among others.
The State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, and the State Commissioner
of Police, Alhaji Umar Shehu, visited the scene of the blast for an
on-the-spot assessment of the incident.
El-Rufai confirmed the incident on his twitter handle, indicating that
20 people were killed in the blast that rocked the secretariat while
staff verification was in progress.
Later in a statement, the governor, through his Special Assistant on
Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said the death toll had risen to
25 people while 50 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Chief Medical Director of the ABU Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Prof.
Lawal Khalid, simple said, "Above a dozen people died."
Health workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told
firstclass newsline that no fewer than 26 people died.
They said those critically injured were receiving treatment, noting
that they needed blood, calling on people to donate blood to the
victims.
Bello Hassan, 32, a worker at the secretariat, said the explosion
happened while the verification exercise was going on.
"Frankly speaking, there is tension around the area. I can not give
the figure (death) now but I saw many bodies that littered the
ground," he added.
Also, a female employee at the local government, Aisha Mohammed, told
a source on the telephone that they were in a 500 capacity hall when
"suddenly, we heard a deafening sound of the explosion."
Firstclassnewsline.net