B’Haram fighters plant bombs in Jos church

But for the alertness of a private security guard,
hundreds of people would have been killed in the
Sunday morning multiple blasts that rocked the
Evangelical Church Winning All in Angwan Yanshi
of Tudun Wada area of Jos North Local
Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident came as multiple acts of terror were
also recorded around Maiduguri Saturday night.
A bomber detonated his explosives in a bus at a
Maiduguri motor park, killing four people
including himself. Other blasts targeted the
Maiduguri office of the Department of State
Security Service. The insurgents were also said
to have mounted roadblocks around Damagum
and set many vehicles ablaze.
But in the Jos church blast, an eye witness told
our correspondent that the church was full to the
brim with worshippers who came for the first
morning service when one of the bombs went off.
The eyewitness, who gave his name as Garuba,
said that after controlling the panicky
worshippers, the guard was said to have started
combing the premises when he discovered
another bomb near the toilet.
The brave guard did not wait to alert anybody as
he quickly picked the lethal parcel and threw it
over the fence. The parcel exploded
spontaneously, missing him just by a whisker.
He however sustained minor injuries from the
flying shrapnel.
Men of the anti-bomb squad were later called in.
When they were combing the area, another
improvised electronic devise (IED) was
discovered in an abandoned kiosk, some 10
metres away.
Officer in charge of Anti-bomb in the Plateau
State Police Command, Mr. Abel Mbibi, told our
correspondent on Sunday that his men were able
to detonate the bomb safely, with no threat to
lives and property.
According to him, the IED is an anti-tilted device.
“We discovered that the IED is an anti-tilted
device. This means that it was constructed in
such a way that it will explode any time it is
turned either way by person or object. That was
why it exploded immediately the guard picked it
up. Our men also combed the area and we
discovered the same type of bomb in an
abandoned kiosk about 10 metres away,” Mbibi
said.
The latest incident came less than a week after
suicide bombers attacked the Dilimi mosque in
the same Jos North Local Government Area. The
ECWA Church in Tudun Wada is located near the
Federal Secretariat, very close to the Jos home
of Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha. One of
the guards in the house told our correspondent
that the explosion shook the foundation of the
building and others around it.
Speaking on the blasts, the police said no one
was killed from the blasts. The Police Public
Relations Manager, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, said
that the area was thoroughly combed after the
blast and there was no further threat.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation,
Salvation Army, has donated 250 bags of rice
and other relief materials to the Internally
Displaced Persons’ camp at Bondon village,
Kaura Local Government Area in Southern
Kaduna, Kaduna State.
The Coordinator, Mrs. Comfort Adepoju, while
presenting the relief material to victims of
attacks by gunmen at Bondon village, Kaura
LGA, also sought for the establishment of a
health centre in the area.
She argued that setting up a health centre by
the state government would drastically curb
mortality rate in the area.
The organisation distributed items such as 240
bags (of 25kg) of rice; some other 10kg bags for
each family; packets of magi and salt; vegetable
oil (three litres) for each family; cardigans for
children as well as 1,750 blankets to help
cushion the cold weather.
According to her, the need for the establishment
of a health centre in the area was necessary
considering the magnitude of lives lost due to
lack of emergency care for victims of the attacks.
She said the need for an establishment of a
health centre in the area was necessary
considering the magnitude of lives lost due to
lack of emergency care for victims of the attacks.
She noted that most of the casualties of the
attacks were those who died before being rushed
to hospitals in Jos, Plateau State.
She said, “It is reported that a lot of injured
persons died as a result of lack of prompt
medical care while women have had
miscarriages and died during such attacks.
“If only there was at least one health centre in
the area, the situation may have been contained.
“We are told that the nearest hospitals are those
in Kafanchan and Jos and these are grossly
inadequate.”
She said the NGO had identified 240 families in
the area who needed succour that would enable
them a meaningful livelihood. She added that the
families identified had lost their bread winners to
the attacks.
“It is sad to hear that most of these women and
children still sleep on bare floor and are exposed
to hazards of the weather,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries, Musa Emmanuel, noted
that it had been difficult surviving at the camp
since the attacks as a result of inadequate
foodstuff, beddings and other related items.
Another beneficiary, Victor Didam, said they slept
on the bare floor in congested classrooms,
adding that it was difficult to come by portable
drinking water.