– Sectarian clashes –
Boko Haram has claimed the killing of several clerics across the north, while assassination attempts targeting Nigeria’s second and third most powerful Islamic leaders have both failed.
Kaduna, once the north’s political capital, has seen relatively little Boko Haram violence in the last 12 months.
Suicide blasts targeting churches in 2012, blamed on the militant group, sparked sectarian clashes in the religiously divided city that left hundreds dead.
If carried out by Boko Haram, the latest violence will underscore the growing threat the extremists pose to Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer.
Islamist gunmen have in recent months attacked civilians at will across the remote northeast, the group’s historic stronghold, but 2014 has also seen major unrest in key urban centres.
The capital Abuja has been hit by three separate bombings, while a double car bombing in the key central city of Jos killed at least 118 people in May.
Jonathan, facing unprecedented pressure to contain the bloodshed, has asked parliament to approve a $1 billion foreign loan to upgrade the security services.
Some analysts have described the request as a tacit acknowledgement by the president that his military is overmatched by Boko Haram who are blamed for killing more than 10,000 people since 2009.
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