By: Ahmed Rufa’i
Eleven years ago November 28, 2014 on Friday Kano was shaken to its core as Boko Haram militants carried out one of their deadliest attacks, bombing the Kano Grand Central Mosque and unleashing gunfire on worshippers gathered for Jumu’ah prayers.
What began as a sacred afternoon of worship quickly turned into carnage when three bombs exploded, followed by a hail of bullets as gunmen opened fire on terrified worshippers.
A total of 130 people were estimated killed, while more than 135 others suffered severe injuries, leaving behind one of the grimmest chapters in Nigeria’s battle against violent extremism.
It’s says that during the massacre inside the mosque after the attack, the scene was harrowing: bullet holes scarred the pillars, the walls and dome were splattered with blood, and a suicide bomber’s vehicle had rammed into the crowd, leaving behind dismembered bodies and pools of blood. Survivors described the horrifying minutes as “hell unleashed in a house of God.”
Despite the global outrage that followed, the attack became the beginning of a new wave of brutality.
Over the past decade, Boko Haram and other armed groups have continued to bomb mosques, churches, markets, schools and government buildings across northern Nigeria.
Women and girls remain targets of abduction, rape and sex slavery, while rural communities still live under the shadow of fear and uncertainty.
As Nigeria reflects on the dark memory of that Friday, rights advocates insist that the government must intensify efforts to protect citizens, dismantle violent networks, and ensure that perpetrators and their sponsors face justice.
Because for many Nigerians, the echoes of that deadly afternoon have never truly faded.
