From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
There is apprehension in Plateau over the resurgence of suicide bombing in the country.
No fewer than 18 people were killed and about 42 other persons injured when female suicide bombers detonated explosives at a wedding party and funeral event in Gwoza, Borno State last Saturday.
Reports that more suicide bombers are also prowling the streets of Gwoza waiting to detonate more bombs have also sent shivers down the spine of residents of Gwoza, with fears that they could stray into adjoining states.
Chairman of the Gwoza Christian Community Association, Ayuba Bassa, had, in a television programme alleged that more than 30 female-female bombers were sent into Gwoza and are still in the area looking for soft targets.
The spate of bombings had rocked Jos, the Plateau state capital, with churches being targets of attacks.
The headquarters of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (C0CIN) and St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Rayfield, were hard hit when suicide bombers attacked the two worship centres in February and March 2012.
Residential areas and markets were also not spared as Gada Biu/Kabong and Angwan Rukuba areas in Jos North were similarly attacked in 2014.
The fresh fears are coming in the wake of directives by the Plateau state government that churches and other worship centres should no longer block roads during their worship days.
Plateau state government, through the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB), had written to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Ja’amatu Nasril Islam (JNI) asking them to stop blocking streets during their worship days.
However, JNI, through the Secretary, Dr. Salim Umar, has urged mosques to intensify their surveillance on Fridays, despite any other
Umar, who spoke to our correspondent in Jos, expressed dismay at the resurgence of suicide bombing, describing it as a red flag.
The JNI scribe said that it portends grave dangers to peace and security in the country.
He said, “There was a lull in suicide bombing in the country for some time now. Unfortunately, the monsters have returned with their nefarious activities. It is important to be cautious at all times, especially when the red flags are obvious. Places of worship should intensify their vigilance irrespective of any order for now. Survival first should be the priority of both worshippers and the government..
Also, the Chairman of CAN in Plateau State, Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo, urged churches not to let their guards down as a result of the directive.
He said, “The directive did not say that churches should relax their regular searches on Sundays. What it says is that religious organisations should stop blocking roads for other users during worship. They should intensify their searches on their worshipers
The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Plateau State Council, also raised concerns over the resurgence of suicide bombing in the country.
In a communique Issued at the end of the council’s congress on Tuesday, the congress expressed worry over the recurring incidence of bomb blasts during a wedding in Gwoza, Borno State, and called on security agencies and citizens to intensify vigilance.
The congress, which was chaired by the Council Chairman, Ayuku Pwaspo, also featured a talk on “Journalism and Mental Health,” delivered by Dr Bwatym Gyang, the Head of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) Suicide and Response Unit.
The communique, which was signed by Pwaspo and the Secretary, Mary Domtur, also raised concerns over the influx of strangers into the state and called on citizens to be watchful and report suspected movements to security agencies.
It also raised the alarm that hoodlums have adopted new strategies of attacking and robbing victims of their property with the aid of motorcycles in Jos the Plateau State Capital and urged security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.
The Congress further noted that Executive Order 003 in Plateau State had displaced a large number of traders within the market causing untold hardship on their businesses and livelihoods thus the appeal to the state government to devise measures to resettle the affected traders in approved and designated markets for the good of all.
The Congress also noted that with the recent cholera outbreak in the country, it was observed that there were some suspected cases in Plateau State, thus the need for the government to put modalities in place to curtail the rising cases.
