Eid al-Fitr festivities, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, have been cancelled in the Nigerian city of Kano after several attacks hit the area.
On Sunday, Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi called off all celebrations due to “the critical situation” in the city.
Earlier in the day, a bomb attack on Saint Charles Catholic church in Kano left at least five people dead and eight others injured.
“We suspect an IED (improvised explosive device) that was thrown from across the road” at the church, said police spokesman Frank Mba.
Following the attack, police managed to foil a bombing attempt on a university by a woman.
The woman “was isolated as she was walking towards the gate of the university” because her behavior was strange, Mba added.
At least five police officers were injured after she detonated her explosives, the spokesman noted.
Similar attacks have been blamed on the Boko Haram Takfiri militants.
The notorious group has repeatedly targeted civilians, mostly in the remote northeastern state of Borno, killing more than 2,000 civilians since January.
On April 14, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the town of Chibok in Borno.
Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape, but 219 are still missing and international efforts to spot and rescue them have failed so far.
Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is forbidden” — says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of its militancy in 2009.
MSM/MAM/AS
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