118 dead in Jos twin bomb explosions

At least 118 people were confirmed dead yesterday following twin explosions at a crowded market in Jos.

The back-to-back bombs at the Terminus Market in the city centre disrupted a long-spell of peace in
the Plateau State capital, which had seen at least two other bomb attacks in the past.

Witnesses said the first explosion, from a bomb planted in bags of maize in a Peugeot J5 bus, happened at about 2.50pm.

Some 35 minutes later, the second bomb detonated from a Toyota Sienna bus, just metres away.

Most of the dead were killed by the first bomb, according to witnesses and rescue workers, who visited the scene soon after the first explosion, saw decapitated human parts strewn all over the place.

The blast also ignited a huge fire. The incident threw Jos into confusion, and threatened to ignite sectarian violence.

Shops and business places were quickly shut, as residents rushed home to safety.

Later last night, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the body count
stood at 118.

“We have collated figures of the injured and the dead handled by security agencies which include the Federal Road Safety Commission, the Police, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps and the total number came to 118,” NEMA’s North-Central coordinator Abdulsalami Mohammed told Daily
Trust.

He said also that 64 people received various degrees of injuries and were being treated in hospitals around the city.

Earlier in the day, State Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe, told journalists that 46 people were killed
but that by that time he had visited only two of the hospitals where the bodies and the injured weretaken.