Aftermath of Jos blast: Traveller killed, 4 missing

• as NEMA confirms 4 dead in Saturday’s bombing
• Locate 6 other bombs, cleric urges military

From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos & Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

Shortly after the Saturday night bomb attack in Jos, the Plateau state capital, five people, said to have been on their way from Gombe state to Nasarawa state, were reportedly attacked by some residents at Rayfield, in Jos-South local government area, killing one, with four others missing.

Our correspondent learnt that the victims, who were said to be residents of Gude village of Akwanga LGA of Nasarawa state, were in a Vento car, with registration number: ‘Nasarawa XD 371 KWL’.

Bashir Abdulkadir, who is a survivor of the attack narrated that, “We were on our way back home (Nasarawa state) from Gombe, where we celebrated Maulud. At Ring Road area, we were stopped by security personnel who told us that there was a bomb explosion in the city, but that they would allow us to pass through Bauchi Road. The said explosion kept many vehicles stranded.

“As this was going on, a security man suggested that we follow the Ring Road leading to British America junction, but unknown to our driver, he took Lamingo Road where we met some Berom youths who blocked the road.

“They began to hit our car and asked us to come out. Before we knew anything, they started beating us and from there some of us fled into the bush. They however killed our driver, called Uba Tanko, because he could not run.

“I managed to jump into a nearby stream but one of them caught me and continued to beat me; one of them used catapult at close range and broke my tooth. At first, they decided to burn me using tyres but the arrival of a military vehicle forced them to release me and run”, he added.

When contacted for comment, the spokesperson of the Special Task Force (JTF) in the state, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, confirmed the attack. He said one person was killed and their personnel have made some arrests for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed that four persons, including the suicide bomber, lost their lives in the bomb explosion which occurred on Saturday, at about 9 p.m., on Bauchi road area of Jos-North local government area of the state.

Speaking to journalists at the scene of the blast, the Principal Planning Officer, NEMA North-Central Zone, Mohammed Suleiman, said in their search and rescue, they discovered three bodies last night and one in the morning, adding that three persons were injured.

“Two of the injured persons were taken to Al-Isan hospital in Unguwan Rogo and the other one is at Gambaji Hospital in Yan Shanu”, he said.

Also, the Executive Secretary of the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency, Alhassan Barde, said unidentified corpses of the Tuesday’s twin blasts at the Jos University Teaching Hospital and other hospitals in Jos would be given a mass burial Monday.

In a related development, the Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin Kwashi, in a sermon delivered yesterday in Minna, at the dedication of the Minna Cathedral of the Anglican Communion, tasked the security agencies to locate and detonate the remaining bombs.

“There was a twin bomb blast few days ago in Jos, in which many people were killed. Just yesterday when I was about to come to Minna, another bomb exploded in Jos again. We are aware that one of the Boko Haram arrested by the security has confessed that they planted 10 bombs in the city.

“We are also aware that one of the bombs has been seen and detonated by the police. But where are the remaining six? The police must urgently search and recover the hidden bombs, to save lives and property”, he said.