<<Print>>

Nine female polio vaccinators have been killed in two shootings at health centres in northern Nigeria, police have told the BBC. In the first attack in Kano the polio vaccinators were shot dead by gunmen who drove up on a motor tricycle. Thirty minutes later gunmen targeted a clinic outside Kano city as the vaccinators prepared to start work. Some Nigerian Muslim leaders have previously opposed polio vaccinations, claiming they could cause infertility. On Thursday, a controversial Islamic cleric spoke out against the polio vaccination campaign, telling people that new cases of polio were caused by contaminated medicine. Such opposition is a major reason why Nigeria is one of just three countries where polio is still endemic. But this is believed to be the first time polio vaccinators have been attacked in the country. Some Kano residents told the BBC's Yusuf Yakasai in the city that other people injured in the first attack had been taken to hospital. A health official confirmed to the BBC that those killed in the second attack in Hotoro were female health workers - there were earlier reports that people waiting at the clinic may have been among those shot. Witnesses in Hotoro told the BBC gunmen also approached the health centre using a motor tricycle.