Arrests made over kano deadly attacks- GEJ

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan (left) walks with Emir of Kano Ado Bayero at the emir's palace, in Kano, on Sunday.

KANO Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday that arrests have been made over a wave of attacks in the city of Kano that killed at least 166 people and vowed to hunt down the backers of Islamist group Boko Haram.

"Some arrests have been made. Some died in the process. Some were suicide bombers," Jonathan said during a visit to Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.

"There must be people who are sponsoring them. Terrorists all over the world have their source of income," said Jonathan, whose visit came two days after the coordinated bombings and gunbattles rocked Kano after Friday prayers.

Jonathan is battling with the worst crisis of his rule as the sectarian violence has raised fears of an all-out civil war in Africa's most populous nation and its biggest oil producer.

"We are also looking into those areas to make sure that the so-called Boko Haram... those who are encouraging them, those who are sponsoring them, shall be brought to book," he vowed.

Jonathan inspected some of the eight sites targeted in the attacks claimed by Boko Haram, including a regional police headquarters, and visited some of the wounded at a military hospital.

He also met the Emir OF kano Ado Bayero, and pledged to boost security, saying "a terrorist attack on one person is an attack on all of us."

But unrest erupted in the north again on Sunday, with 10 people killed in pre-dawn gun attacks in the town of Tafawa Balewa, in the neighbouring state of Bauchi.

Around 20 explosions reverberated across the city on Friday, with a police headquarters and other police stations, a secret police building and immigration offices being targeted.

Gunfire also erupted in several areas of the city and a Channels Television journalist covering the unrest was among those shot dead.

The attacks sent residents fleeing in fear or kept many indoors on Sunday.

"How can I go out while such a huge number of the people have been killed? I have to respect the dead," said food trader Shehu Lawan.

In Sunday's unrest, 10 people were killed in Bauchi after gunmen attacked a police station and robbed a bank, police said.

"In the exchange of fire that ensued, a policeman, a soldier and eight unidentified civilians were killed by stray bullets," police spokesman Mohammed Barau said, adding that six suspects had been arrested.

Recent attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria

 A look at recent major attacks in Nigeria attributed to the radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram:

Jan. 20: Boko Haram claims responsibility for a series of coordinated bombings and gun battles around the city of Kano that kill at least 143 people.

Dec. 25, 2011: Boko Haram claims responsibility for an attack on a Catholic church in Madalla near Nigeria's capital and assaults elsewhere in the country that kill at least 42 people.

Dec. 22-24, 2011: Sect members fight with police and military forces around the city of Damaturu, leaving at least 61 people dead.

Nov. 4, 2011: Sect members bomb government buildings and shoot their way through the city of Damaturu, killing more than 100 people, while bombs and a suicide attack in Maiduguri leave 4 dead.

Aug. 26, 2011: A sect member detonates a car loaded with explosives at the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital Abuja, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100 others.

June 16, 2011: A car loaded with explosives detonates at the federal police headquarters in Abuja, killing at least two people. Police first call the attack a suicide bombing, but later deny it.

April 9, 2011: Gunmen from the sect set fire to the Maiduguri International Hotel and kill a politician ahead of local elections.

April 8, 2011: A bomb allegedly planted by the sect explodes at an election office in Suleja in Niger state, killing 16 people.

Jan. 28, 2011: Gunmen with the sect shoot and kill the leading candidate for governor in Borno state along with six others in his entourage.

Dec. 31, 2010: A bomb allegedly planted by the sect explodes at a crowded and popular outdoor beer garden at a military barracks in Abuja, killing at least four people.

Dec. 24, 2010: A series of bombs allegedly planted by the group explode in the central Nigerian city of Jos, killing as many as 80 people.

Sept. 7, 2010: Gunmen with the sect free about 700 inmates from a Bauchi federal prison.

July 2009: About 700 people die after sect members riot and a security crackdown hits Maiduguri, the sect's spiritual home.