The Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Benjamin Kwashi, yesterday raised the alarm that there are six bombs planted in Jos, the Plateau State capital, that were yet to explode.
He, therefore, called on security agencies to combthe city to locate them.
The cleric sounded the alarm following the confession of a suspected Boko Haram member arrested in connection with the twin bomb blasts that rocked the city last week that 10 bombs were planted by the sect.
The Archbishop spoke in Minna yesterday while delivering a sermon entitled: “The Good Shepherd” at the dedication of the Minna Cathedral of the Anglican Communion and the presentation of four Archbishops.
He said: “There were twin bomb blasts a few days ago in Jos in which many people were killed. Just yesterday when I was about to come to Minna, another bomb exploded in Jos again. We are aware that one of the Boko Haram arrested by the security has confessed that they planted 10 bombs in the city.
“We are also aware that one of the bombs has been seen and detonated by the police. But where are the remaining six? The police must urgently search and recover the hidden bombs to save lives and property.”
While lamenting the devastating effects of the insurgence on the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Kwashi expressed sadness over the killing of three of its deacons in Taraba State.
He said: “The Archbishop of Taraba State has sent me a report that we lost three of our deacons in the state, while in Adamawa State, eight members were recently killed. No good shepherd will be happy about such loss of his herd.”
He called on the church to remain steadfast in prayers while seeking divine intervention for the country to overcome its present security challenges.
Four Archbishops, including Ignatius Kattey of the Province of the Niger Delta, Michael Akinyemi (Kwara), Emmanuel Chukwuma (Enugu) and Emmanuel Egbunu (Lokoja) were presented as Archbishops by the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, yesterday confirmed that four persons, including a suicide bomber, died in Saturday night’s bomb blast in Jos.
According to NEMA, four of the victims, including the suicide bomber, died instantly in the explosion, which occurred near a viewing centre on Bauchi Road.
NEMA Principal Planning Officer, North Central Zone, Muhammed Suleiman, who was at the scene of the explosion yesterday, told journalists that they recovered three bodies on Saturday night while another was recovered yesterday morning.
As reactions continued to trail the renewed bomb blasts in the state, Governor Jonah Jang said the state could not be cowed into submitting to terror. He urged the people to remain courageous and have faith that the war on terrorism would be won.
Jang, in a statement by his Director of Press and Publicity Mr. James Manok, said, “This third bomb blast is a calculated attempt to disrupt the peace and normalcy which has since returned to the state”.
According to the governor, security agencies in the state should fish out the perpetrators and the sponsors of the bomb attacks and be brought to justice.
The state Police commissioner, Mr. Chris Olakpe, who also confirmed the blast, said that four people were killed and three others wounded.
A survivor of the blast, Shittu Abubakar, said he was at the viewing centre, watching the Champions League finals when he heard a loud explosion.
In Borno State, at least 24 people were reportedly killed yesterday in an attack carried out by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Kamuyya village, Biu Local Government Area of the state.
Boko Haram militants have recently intensified bloody attacks in the rural areas as over 100 villagers have reportedly lost their lives within the last one week.
The latest incident occurred in the afternoon when dozens of the insurgents, armed with assault rifles and explosives, invaded a weekly market in Kamuyya and killed 24 persons.
Residents said the insurgents had visited the town about two months ago and asked the village head to mobilise his subjects to contribute N250,000 for them to execute God’s work.
The villagers, most of them peasant farmers and petty traders, had only managed to raised N70,000, a situation which angered the insurgents.
They reportedly threatened to return and collect the balance, warning the community to either meet to their demand within a stipulated period or face deadly attack.
“Actually when they issued such threat, we all took it lightly as we were all relaxed and nobody bothered to make any extra effort to put in the amount they requested. Maybe that was what ignited this bloody attack because we were unable to meet their demand,” a resident, Bukar Umar, alleged.
Umara said over 20 insurgents, suspected to have emerged from the bush, stormed the Kamuyya weekly market when traders were conducting their businesses and opened fire on the crowd before setting shops and vehicles on fire.
According to him, the militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided the area and proceeded to the major market and began sporadic shooting, which led to the huge number of the dead.
He noted that they were taken unawares as the town had not come under such heavy attacks for a long time and expressed dismay that innocent people were killed freely without the intervention of the security forces.
“Throughout the onslaught, which lasted for over five hours, there were no single security personnel to confront the invaders as they had a field day wreaking havoc on us.
“The invaders snatched several vehicles and loaded them with bags of assorted foodstuff, before fleeing the area,” he said.
He also alleged that the attackers burnt almost all the houses, shops and vehicles, even as they carted away assorted food items.
Culled from National Mirror