Jos — The Plateau State Government has ordered security operatives comprising men of the Nigerian Army, Air Force, and Mobile Police to 'shoot on sight' anybody fomenting crisis or defying the curfew order imposed on the state capital, Jos. The order was the government's latest response to end the riot in Jos, which death toll, as at yesterday evening, had risen to 350. Giving the order yesterday morning following fresh killings that started at the Tinna Junction and Mando areas of the city, the state Governor, Da Jonah Jang, said the state government would not sit back and watch thugs wreck more havoc on innocent citizens.
THISDAY also gathered that security operatives yesterday intercepted about 500 men armed with weapons on their way to Jos. THISDAY could not however independently verify the figure.
The arrest was a sign that the warring groups are regrouping.
Jang also said his action was informed by his on-the-spot assessment of the situation, particularly in the affected areas.
He lamented that having gone round the city to ascertain the extent of damage, the loss of lives and property and the gory sights of destruction that trailed the city, he had no alternative than to give the order. The Governor however, appealed for calm saying "government is on top of the situation".
Addressing journalists at the Press Centre in Jos, officials of the Nigerian Red Cross Society said the society had deposited 150 corpses of victims of the riot at the Central Mosque.
However, unconfirmed reports say the death toll had risen beyond the figure given by the Society. Agence France Press (AFP) reports that 381 bodies were yesterday placed in a mosque in Jos. The Associated Press (AP) also reported that bodies with fresh wounds arrived at the city's main mosque for quick burial in keeping with Islamic precepts. Many Christians have also lost their lives as what started as post-election violence takes a religious colouration.
Citizens who had fled their homes are taking refuge in National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) command, Recos, NDLEA Regional Academy Central Mosque, Macalashi Jumat, ECWA Church, Apata, University of Jos Senior Staff Quarters, and Rukuba Army Barracks.
Revelation Ministry Church was totally burn down, report also said that Pastor Davies Gold family members and some church members were killed during the riot, his cars and church vehicles and home are also burned down by the muslim rioters, presentely he is no were to be found.
Also burned were buildings of the Christ Apostolic Church, Assemblies of God Church, three branches of the Church of Christ in Nigeria and two buildings of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, Christian leaders said.
The number of casualties continued to grow, reportedly reaching more than 100 as security forces tried to rein in rioters, with both Christian and Muslim groups still counting their losses. Hundreds have reportedly been wounded.“We have been witnessing sporadic shootings in the last two days,” said the Rev. Chuwang Avou, secretary of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria. “We see some residents shooting sporadically into the air. We have also seen individuals with machine guns on parade in the state.”
Sectarian violence in Jos, a volatile mid-point where the predominantly Muslim north meets the mainly Christian south, left more than 1,000 people dead in 2001. Another 700 people were killed in sectarian outbreaks of violence in 2004. Located in Nigeria’s central region between the Muslim-majority north and the largely Christian south, Plateau state is home to various Christian ethnic groups co-existing uneasily with Muslim Hausa settlers.
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