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    January 20, 2012

Witnesses: Explosions, Gunfire Hit Nigerian City

   VOA News

   Witnesses report hearing multiple explosions and gunfire in Kano, the
   largest city in northern Nigeria.
   Nigerian state television reports that a suicide car bomber attacked a
   police headquarters in the city Friday, wounding several people. The TV
   station also reports attacks on a police station and an immigration
   office.
   Reports from Kano say the blast at the police headquarters ripped the
   roof off the building.
   A local journalist said he heard gunfire after the blasts and saw
   wounded people being carried out of one of the police stations.
   Nigeria is trying to cope with a wave of bombings and shootings in the
   north, most of it blamed on the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram. The
   shadowy group has claimed responsibility for several of the deadly
   attacks.
   President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to crush the group. Last month he
   declared a state of emergency in 15 areas and deployed troops in an
   effort to maintain order.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.