At least 50 people were killed as Plateau erupted in another groundbreaking violence on Friday morning through afternoon, this time ignited by the outcome of the local government poll held on Thursday, which the opposition alleged was rigged in favour of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PSIEC) Chairman, Gabriel Zi, said on Friday that the PDP won in 16 of the total 17 local council areas, including in the Jos North Local Government. Result was still being awaited for Langtang Local Government as at the time of going to press.
Two Army Generals – Nick Agbogun and UJ Uwurgbe – sustained serious injuries from gunshots allegedly fired by street urchins said to be loyal to one of the feuding parties. The generals were reportedly returning from a conference when they ran into the rampaging youths.
The soldiers’ whereabouts were unknown as at press time. They were shot alongside their driver, Rufai Mailafia, at Naraguta Junction, near the University of Jos permanent site, en route the airport to catch a flight to Lagos.
Eyewitnesses said the street urchins took to arms to protest the relocation of the counting of the disputed results from Jos North Local Government, with the PDP and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) trading words.
Aso Rock has ordered troops to take over security of the state, going by a statement by Presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, which reads: "President (Umaru) Yar’Adua is on top of the situation, having been fully briefed on phone by the Governor of Plateau. The President has also met with relevant security chiefs after which he ordered that the military be deployed to contain the situation.
"The President feels very sad about violence and all the relevant government agencies have been put on alert to take care of the injured and the displaced people."
Plateau Governor, Jonah Jang, has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on Jos and Bukuru metropolis, backed by a shoot-on-sight order to security agencies.
The crisis may also have indigene-settler colouration, as has been the case in the state, given the pattern of the mayhem.
As early as 6 a.m. on Friday, angry street urchins and suspected supporters of the ANPP had taken over Bauchi Road, Ali Kazaure Street, Masalanci Jummar, Ugwan Rogo, Ugwan Rimi, Eto Baba, Sarkin Mangu and Tudun Wada, allegedly killing, looting and maiming people who do not belong to the Hausa-Fulani ethnic group. The natives then regrouped to launch a fierce counter that included attacks on mosques located within Jenta-Adamu, Mangoro and Jos.
Contacted, Chief Medical Director of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Ishaya Pam, confirmed to reporters that JUTH was in receipt of three corpses and had treated over 40 residents of Jos who sustained gunshot wounds and machete cuts.
Pam lamented that the hospital was overwhelmed with hundreds of refugees pouring into its premises and called for the aid of the state government, philanthropists and aid agencies.
Injured persons were seen being rushed from different settlements of Jos to the Plateau Specialist Hospital, ECWA Evangel Hospital, and several private clinics in Jos as at the time of filing this report.
Jang, meanwhile, has instructed all security agencies to shoot-on-sight and patrol the troubled city until normalcy returns. Jang said report of the violence got to him in the early hours of Friday, following which he summoned an emergency security meeting to appraise the situation after a security report indicated that "crisis was pre-planned particularly since the election results were yet to be announced as at the time the violence erupted."
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Plateau, Bala Kassim, confirmed to Saturday Independent the death of one policeman, and assured that the Plateau Police Command is trying to put the situation under control.
Jos is known for ethno-religious crisis, the last being in 2004 when several lives were lost in the Yelwa Shendam pogrom, three years after a similar crisis claimed hundreds of lives.
Reports from the latest crisis said that Muslim opposition supporters had gone on rampage when they heard their candidate, Baba Aminu, may have lost the election. Aminu is a former personal assistant to former Minister of State for Information, Ibrahim Nakade, who was recently dropped from the Federal Executive Council by Yar’Adua. Nakade is of the ANPP.
Timothy Buba of the PDP was later declared winner of the election. Buba is brother of former Comptroller-General of Customs, Gyang Buba.
The latest unrest in the religiously divided city, saw Christians burning mosques and Muslims burning churches.
"Very early this morning a group of protesters macheted to death a policeman," one witness said.
A lecturer at the University of Jos said smoke could be seen from burning tires and buildings.
"From where I’m standing I can see smoke coming from all over the city," Victor Dugga was reported as telling the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC’s) Focus on Africa programme.
Dugga added that people were very worried as there was no information on the local media about the violence.
"We have three radio stations in Jos and they are only playing music and telling us about what happened (on Thursday). Nobody is telling us what is happening now," he said.
In 2004, a state of emergency was declared in Plateau as a result of religious clashes.
In 2001, more than 1,000 people died for the same reason in the city
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