Nine health workers shot dead in Nigeria

Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead nine health workers who were administering polio vaccinations in two separate attacks in Nigeria’s main northern city of Kano yesterday.

No one claimed responsibility but Islamist militant group Boko Haram, a sect which has condemned the use of Western medicine, has been blamed for a spate of assaults on security forces in recent weeks.

Some influential Muslim leaders in Kano openly oppose polio vaccination, saying it is a conspiracy against Muslim children. The attacks will hit efforts by global health organisations to clear Nigeria’s mostly-Muslim north of polio; a virus that can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection.

Reuters