Many Killed As Suicide Bombers Hit Military Church in Jaji

Kaduna — Over 11 persons were feared dead, yesterday and several others seriously injured when a suicide bomber rammed into the Saint Andrews Protestant Church, inside the Army Cantonment, Jaji, in Kaduna.

A military spokesman told the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC that two vehicles were driven into the barracks in Jaji in what he described as "surprising and an embarrassment".
The unprovoked attack, according to witnesses, took place between 11:30am and midday when the first set of worshippers were about to depart after the first service.
The attacker, it was learnt, had aimed at killing most of the worshippers as they were coming out of the church.

Scores of lucky worshippers and passersby were also severely wounded by the force of the blast, which shocked many residents of the cantonment who are mostly middle cadre military officers undergoing their compulsory command and staff training programmes.
It was gathered that most of the critically wounded were rushed to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, while others were taken to a nearby hospital with life support facilities. The bodies of the victims were also taken to nearby mortuaries in the city.
A military source confirmed the blast and the death of many persons but said it was too early to give the specific casualty figure.

Sources told Vanguard that the vehicles were driven into the Jaji cantonment through the bush, thereby escaping all the military checkpoints mounted at the entry and exit points into the cantonment.

Military sources disclosed that the suicide bombers, who died in the blast, came through the Maraban-Jos axis, and thereby escaped being detected at the Abuja-Minna-Kaduna axis.
The source said: "It is true that a suicide bomber attempted to enter the St. Andrews Protestant Church inside the Cantonment but he was stopped from gaining access to the main building. But he detonated his bomb and killed himself and some other persons.

"The main building of the church is not affected and a few people have died but we cannot give the exact number of persons who have been killed".

But the Director Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Bola Koleoso who had earlier denied knowing the casualty figure later sent a text message to say that 11 were killed, and 30 injured.

VANGUARD