Scores of people are feared dead in a bomb blast at Kano Central Mosque, near the Emir’s palace, witnesses and the spokesperson of the Military Joint Task Force in the state, Captain Ikechukwu Eze, have said.

Witnesses said the bomb went off as Muslim faithful prepared for their Friday jumaat prayers, causing serious pandemonium as people ran helter-skelter for dear lives.

The explosion, which went off at about 2 p.m. before the Imam of the mosque, Sani Zahradeen, began his sermon, was said to have been followed by sporadic gunshots.

The number of casualties is not yet known.

Already the police have cordoned off the area  while the entire mosque has been deserted.

Details later…