At least 20 people were killed after a suicide bomber blew himself up among crowds at a Shiite Muslim procession outside the north Nigerian city of Kano, in the latest violence to hit the troubled region.
The attack happened on Friday in the village of Dakasoye, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) south of the city, during a march by followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.
The group, led by Sheik Ibrahim El-Zaky-Zaky, said on its website the blast happened at 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) and that “scores” had been killed.
But there was no official indication of casualties and one of the organisers told AFP: “It’s a huge crowd so it’s too early to give a precise figure of casualties.
“We now have the other suspect in custody.”
The organiser, who asked to remain anonymous, said the bomber ran into the crowd before he could be spotted and detonated his explosives.
“He was dressed in black like everyone else. His accomplice was initially arrested and confessed they were sent by Boko Haram,” he added.
“They were part of the young men abducted by Boko Haram in Mubi (in Borno State), last year and taken to Sambisa Forest where they were given some military training.
“They were sent to Kano 11 days ago and kept in a house specifically for this attack.”
The bomber detonated his explosives after realising his accomplice had been arrested, the organiser added.
The Kano State Police command has said it could not ascertain the casualty figures.
Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Muhammad Katsina, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the members of the sect had taken away the corpses and injured persons.
“I cannot give you the official figure of casualty and the injured because the members have taken them away.
“So, since I have not seen them physically, I cannot tell you the number of persons affected,” he said.
He, however, said the leader of the movement in Kano, Malam Muhammad Turi, had told some journalists in his presence at the scene that 21 persons lost their lives and many others injured in the blast.
According to him, the command had directed its officers to check at the various hospitals in Kano if they had taken the corpses to any.
He said the suspected member of Boko Haram said to have been arrested by the sect had not been handed over to the police.
Katsina added that police would make official figure of casualty public as soon as it was available.
He said the police anti-bomb squad had defused one bomb which was planted on the road.
Boko Haram, the radical Sunni jihadists who want to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, has previously been blamed for attacks on Shiite Muslims in the region.
Last November at least 15 people were killed and some 50 others injured in a suicide bombing targeting the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura in the city of Potiskum, in Yobe state.
Ashura marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
In April, a suicide bomber targeted a group of Shiite Muslims outside an open-air mosque, also in Potiskum. He killed himself and wounded three worshippers.
Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left at least 17,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless, condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
The followers were on a “symbolic trek” from Kano to Zaria, in neighbouring Kaduna state, where El-Zaky-Zaky is based, to mark the 40th day of Ashura.
Their arrival on December 3 is designed to coincide with the gathering of pilgrims at Hussein’s tomb in the Iraqi city of Karbala.
Friday’s attack came after a female bomber killed eight in the northeastern city of Maiduguri last Sunday and four teenage girls blew themselves up in northern Cameroon on Saturday killing five.
Boko Haram has increasingly used suicide bombers against “soft” civilian targets since the start of a military offensive earlier this year that has pushed them out of controlled territory.
President Muhammadu Buhari has given his military commanders until next month to end the conflict but there are fears suicide and bomb attacks may persist.
Senior military, security and intelligence figures on Thursday questioned the deadline and said it was “unrealistic” because of the wave of bombings in the region.
