Leaders 'appalled' by Nigeria attacks
KANO, Sunday
UN leader Ban Ki-moon is "appalled" by the wave of bomb attacks in Nigeria and called for transparent investigations into the scores of deaths, his spokesman said.0
Ban "condemns in the strongest terms the multiple attacks that have taken place across the northern Nigerian city of Kano, causing large-scale casualties and massive destruction to property," said Ban Ki-moon in a statement released by his spokesman late Saturday.
"The secretary general is appalled at the frequency and intensity of recent attacks in Nigeria, which demonstrate a wanton and unacceptable disregard for human life."
Ban expressed "solidarity" with the Nigerian government and people and called for "swift and transparent investigations" into the attacks.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan also arrived in Kano on Sunday to inspect sites hit in one of the deadliest waves of attacks in the Muslim north of the country, an AFP reporter said.
He visited the bombed regional police headquarters, two days after the violence targeted eight sites in Kano, including police offices, and killed at least 166 people.
"A terrorist attack on one person is an attack on all of us," Jonathan said.
In a meeting with emir Ado Bayero, the top Muslim traditional leader in the city, Jonathan offered his condolences and promised to boost security.
Jonathan had on December 31 imposed emergency rule in parts of Nigeria's north badly hit by attacks blamed on an Islamist sect Boko Haram, but Kano was not part of the areas covered.
