…16 Dead, 25 Injured, Says STF
… Rescue Work Ongoing – NEMA
BEVERLY HILLS, December 11, (THEWILL) – A twin suicide bombing Thursday evening in Jos, the Plateau State capital, claimed the lives of scores of people.
Local residents disclosed that the first explosion occurred right at the city centre in front of Mr. Biggs eatery, at about 6:35 pm, while the second rocked the area a few minutes later .
“It occurred close to the burnt central market where traders erected their stalls to sell their wares, usually in the evenings,” a local resident, Mr Nuhu Adamu, said.
Adamu, who was at the scene of the double explosions, also said he saw corpses and some wounded persons being taken to the hospital when the explosions subsided as the area was immediately cordoned off by security operatives.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Plateau State Police Command, Abuh Emmanuel, confirmed the bombing.
“There was a blast around the Mr Biggs premises in the city, but I am yet to be properly briefed by the Divisional Police Officer on the incident, ” he said.
But the Media Officer of the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos Crisis, Ikedichi Iweha, who also confirmed the incident, said 16 persons were killed while 25 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
However, the North Central zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Abdulsalam Mohammed, couldn’t give any casualty figure as he said rescue operations were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Senator representing Plateau North in the National Assembly and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Gyang Pwajok, has condemned the bombing, saying it was the handiwork of the enemies of the people.
“At a time when Plateau is on the march to greatness, it is only the enemies of the state that would conceive and perpetrate this kind of wickedness,” he lamented.
He called on all peace loving people of state to remain vigilant and join hands with the security agencies in bringing the perpetrators to book.
