It was early Saturday, in the crowded market place of Kano Nigeria, where a girl detonated a bomb killing twenty people and injuring fifty-one others.
Vigilantes, who were placed on the scene for screening potential threats, stopped the girl, whose age was estimated to be around ten years old, but still unconfirmed. The girl had explosives strapped to her body, which set off the metal detectors that everyone is required to go through before entering the market.
Abur Babakura, a civilian who was present at the scene said, “The metal detector beeped indicating she was carrying a metal under her dress, but it exploded before she could be singled out from the crowd.”
It is still unclear who wanted the bombing executed, but officials believe that it was the work of Boko Haram militants. This group is based in Nigeria, and whose name translates to “Western education is sin.” The organization has been associated with the murdering of over 5,000 citizens since 2009, and has attacked everything from police stations, schools, and churches.
“We believe that (there) was an accomplice watching from a distance pressed the remote,” exclaimed Babakura, but it is still unsure if the Boko Haram are definitely the ones behind this attack.
It is believed that the Boko have recently been going around to villages, where they will kill the elders, and kidnap the children, who are then used to do their dirty work. So if these rumors are indeed true, then it very well might have been the Boko Haram behind the bombing.
Most people would agree, that sending a child to do this type of dirty work is despicable and spineless. What kind of message is this militant group attempting to send out by using children? These children do not understand what is going on and what they are being forced to be a part of. Bakura Bashir, another witness at the bomb site stated that, “This girl may not necessarily know she was conveying a timed bomb. The girl was torn into two halves, and half of her body was thrown across buildings by the devastating blast.”
Even though these children may not grasp the gravity of the situation being dealt of them. The Boko Haram show no signs of slowing down, as they are spreading their messages of hate throughout Nigeria, they are a dangerous group, who clearly have no boundaries.
Photo By: SUNDAY ALAMBA/AP
