10 die in Jos suicide bombing, reprisals
On February 27, 2012 · In News 2:03 amTweet
By TAYE OBATERU& SAM EYOBOKA
JOS — 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.


A part of the church dmaged by the blast
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.

Boko Haram claims responsibility
Boko Haram Islamic sect, yesterday, said it was behind the suicide bomb attack outside the church in Jos, and warned of more such assaults.

Its spokesman, Abul Qaqa, told reporters in a conference call: “We carried out the attack on COCIN church in Jos today and we did what we did as part of our resolve to avenge the killings and dehumanisation of Muslims in Jos in the last 10 years.”

President Jonathan condemns violence

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, condemned the suicide bombing at COCIN in Jos and the mindless acts of reprisal that followed the incident. He said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, that those who sought to divide the nation by fear and terror, would not succeed.

The president said: “The indiscriminate bombing of Christians and Muslims is a threat to all peace-loving Nigerians. Mr. President will continue to stand firm to ensure the safety and security of all Nigerians while ensuring that the relevant institutions move against those who disregard the sanctity of life in the pursuit of sectarian ambitions.”

He said that government was “gradually and firmly bringing justice to those behind the attacks and exposing their identities and dismantling their terror infrastructure,” adding that “those behind similar acts of terror in recent times have been arrested and are being investigated with a view to prosecuting them accordingly as a deterrent to others.”

FG still open for dialogue - Maku
Mr Labaran Maku, Minister of Information, said the government was still open to dialogue with members of the Boko Haram sect.

Maku who said this at a Security Conference organised by UK-based BEN Television in London, noted: “We are ready to talk to them but we need to have a platform for that to happen. We will continue to maintain the pressure. Even in Afghanistan, the Americans are talking to the Taliban.”

Maku, who said it was untrue that the government did not have a strategy in place to fight terrorism, added: “in the midst of war you must develop a strategy. We currently have a West African strategy where all our security chiefs across the region are meeting regularly to discuss cross-boundary problems, including terrorism. We have a strong national resource and capacity to tackle this menace and are open to fresh ideas on this menace.”

He said that some members of the group were willing to talk to the gov ernment, adding that it was no longer a unified organisation. “This is a war of minds; it’s not just a military or security war; how to talk to them is a long drawn process. We need to know who they are.”

Also, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa , Chairman House Committee on Diaspora, said that Boko Haram was neither a religious nor ethnic group. She said: “It is a social, economic and political issue and some people just want to use it to destabilise the political process.” The lawmaker, who commended the government for its efforts at tackling the menace, however, said more needed to be done.

Boko Haram activities getting out of hand—CAN

National President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said the Boko Haram sect was getting out of hand and unless the government demonstrates the political will to deal decisively with the trend Nigeria will soon overtake the rest of the world as a terrorist nation.

Oritsejafor said: “Why will such individuals not be shown the way out of the civil service and prosecuted for the great disservice they have done to the country that pays their bill?” Pastor Oritsejafor, in a telephone interview said the war against terror should go beyond the change of guards at the Police Force, and should be extended to the prosecution of all those fingered as sponsors of the Boko Haram sect.

He said: “For far too long, we have pretended that all is well with this project Nigeria, even when it is obvious that we are deceiving ourselves.”

In his reaction, renowned televangelist, Rev Uma Ukpai, warned members of the Islamic militant group, to stop further violent attacks or risk another civil conflagration which will not be in the interest of anyone.

Addressing select media partners in Lagos, Rev Ukpai said: “They will not succeed. Boko Haram cannot divide the country. Remember, they don’t have the monopoly of violence.

Their current campaign can only push us to the wall and if they push us to the wall, we will have no choice than to fight back and it would be devastating because they are fighting with anger, but ours will be prosecuted with calculated precision


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