The relative peace enjoyed by residents of Jos, Plateau
State capital for some time was shattered, yesterday, as two bomb explosions
ripped through Terminus Market in the city, killing no fewer than 118 persons
and injuring several others. The Police, however, said that 46 were killed
while 45 others were injured, according to report from Vanguard
The National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), described the casualty rate of the
blasts as catastrophic just as President
Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Jonah
Jang and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal condemned it.
The first explosion was said to have gone off in the market,
located at Jos Terminus, at the back of the popular Ahmadu Bello Way by 2.30pm, while the second explosion occurred
about 30 minutes later. The first blast, according to an eye witness, was said
to have gone off in a Sienna space bus with number plate Plateau XB 146 BLD.
The second blast was said to have killed more people than
the first, as many residents and traders, who had fled the scene following the
first explosion, tried to join rescue agencies to save the injured and retrieve
bodies of the dead.
At least five residents who were suspicious of a mysterious
van parked in their area reportedly informed police officers but no police
officer arrived at the scene, and nothing was done until the car exploded some
hours afterwards.
Briefing journalists in Jos, the State Commissioner of
Police, Chris Olakpe said the bodies
have been deposited at the Plateau Specialists Hospital and the Bingham
University Teaching Hospital, all in Jos.
Olakpe said: “At about
1500hrs, we heard an explosion but on getting there, a secondary explosion
occurred along the same axis. In a situation like this, we don’t rule out high
casualties but we are following up to check the Jos University Teaching
Hospital, JUTH and other places. “Anyone
with information should come forward with such as it will help us in our
investigation”.
The National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has also declared that the casualty rate
after the twin bomb blasts could be best described as catastrophic.
“I can’t tell you the
figure of those killed by the blasts now, because we are still evacuating
bodies from the scene. “The only thing I can say is that the casualty figure is
very massive. It is a catastrophe,” Alhaji
Abdulsalam Abubakar, the NEMA Coordinator (North-Central), told the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.
“The bombers parked the cars and left the
explosives to detonate. It was in the market and at a peak period. So, you can
only imagine what could have happened,” he said.
“There are also a massive number of people
injured. We have conveyed some to various hospitals,” the NEMA official
said.
“We will have to first finish the operation
and then visit the various hospitals. For now, we are only picking dead bodies
all over the place,” Abubakar said.
Mr Chris Olakpe, Plateau’s Commissioner of Police, who also
spoke to NAN, confirmed that it was difficult to confirm the figure
immediately.
“We are still busy at
the scene. We shall speak later,” he said. While an eye-witness, Peter Amine, said: “We were inside the market when I heard a
loud explosion at about 3:28 p.m.
“Before I knew what
happened, a vehicle part landed just by my legs,” a visibly shaken Amine
told NAN. He said that a thick dark smoke engulfed the scene, thus compounding
the already chaotic situation as horror-stricken persons ran in all directions.
However, the State Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Olivia Dazyem appealed to “all hospitals within the metropolis to
accept those injured as the result of the unfortunate incident for prompt
treatment”.
She added that though the details of the incident regarding “the extent of casualties and damages were
yet to be ascertained, government appeals to the public to remain calm and
law-abiding as security personnel are already working”.
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