By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Nigeria's opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) party on Saturday described multiple bomb blasts and shootings in a mosque in the northwestern Nigerian town of Kano on Friday as an "an attack on our nationhood and the way we live."
"Every attack against innocent people, including women and children, or those who are performing or pursuing their commitment to their God or faith, is a cowardly and senseless victimization and exploitation of vulnerability," APC spokesman Lai Mohammed said in a statement on Saturday.
There has been no official announcement about casualties from Friday's attack, which took place at the Kano Grand Mosque, the very heart of the city's Muslim community where the powerful emir Muhammadu Sanusi usually leads prayers.
However, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency told The Anadolu Agency late on Friday that over 50 people were killed in the attack.
APC said it stood with the people of Kano.
"The fabric and the character of our people, whether in Kano or anywhere else across the nation, are stronger than this attack on our collective humanity," the party said.
"Our resolve as a nation will always overcome evil and any assault on how we live and practice our respective faiths," it added.
The opposition party, which was formed in 2013, said that it would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Kano and all affected families at this difficult time.
It added that it prayed that God would grant repose to the souls of those who were killed in the blast, wishing a speedy recovery for those who were injured in the attack.
"We urge all citizens to demonstrate the Nigerian spirit of compassion and strength of character by giving succor and support to one another," the party said.
APC said it was ready to work with the ruling People's Democratic Party government to address the challenges of terrorism "in a bipartisan" manner.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella organization containing numerous Christian denominations, meanwhile, condemned the attack.
"This particular attack is the greatest evil both to a fellow human being and to God almighty," association President Ayo Oritsejafor said.
"It is an act that must be denounced by all Christians and Muslims," he added, noting that God did not commission the killing of a fellow human being.
He called on Nigerians to join hands to confront terrorism, adding that Nigerians could not continue to allow terrorists to intimidate them in their country.
"We must cooperate with relevant authorities in addition to being extra vigilant to defeat this terror;" Oritsejafor said.
"They [terrorists] are human beings and can be defeated, but we have to be united," he added.
www.aa.com.tr/en
