TWO suicide bombers in a Golf car, yesterday, crashed into the headquarters of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, COCIN, in the Plateau State leaving at least five people dead and about 40 people injured.
At least five others, most of them commercial motorcyclists were said to have been killed in reprisal attacks by irate youths in different parts of the city. Some shops around Bank Road were also torched by protesting youths.
Divine intervention saved what could have resulted in several deaths as the car laden with improvised explosive devices including industrial and refrigerator gas cylinders exploded just metres away from the church building.
A motorcycle was said to have blocked the way and the car exploded as the suicide bomber tried to overrun it into the church building. About 30 cars within the premises were damaged while glasses of buildings around 500 metres radius of the church were smashed.
The suicide bomber was blown into smithereens while the car was also mangled beyond recognition with only the engine identifiable. His accomplice who jumped out of the car before the explosion was lynched as he tried to escape after the blast.
The blast which occurred at about 7.25 a.m while the first service was already on, shook most parts of the state capital with residents in far-flung parts attesting to feeling the vibration in their homes.
A security officer of the church who narrated the incident said the car forced its way into the church premises and sped towards the church before crashing into the motorcycle which stopped it from getting into the church building.
Irate church members pounced on a soldier alleged to have flagged the vehicle into the premises without proper check and would have lynched him but for the intervention of some church leaders. The soldier was later taken away ostensibly for interrogation.
Governor Jonah Jang who visited the church premises and some of the injured at the Plateau Specialist Hospital condemned the incident coming when efforts were on to consolidate on the return of peace to the state.
He directed security agencies to beef up security at churches and mosques to prevent any further attack adding that no effort would be spared to sustain the peace in the state.
The governor who was accompanied by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Dipo Ayeni, Commandant of the Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Desmond Agu and the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe appealed to the people not to take the laws into their hands but to allow security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of evil.
Reacting to the incident Executive Director of Centre for the Advocacy of Justice and Rights, Mr. Gad Peter, condemned the bombing describing it as “clear indication that the security of the state is under a new threat and all citizens must be alert.”
He urged the new commander of the Special Task Force in the state to “ensure that the peace Jos enjoyed in the last few months under the control of his predecessor is sustained.”
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said in a statement that three people were killed in the blast while 38 were hospitalized. A statement by NEMA spokesman, Yushau Shuaib said the organization and the Red Cross had completed evacuation of victims at the scene.
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