Mobs swept through the Nigerian city of Jos on Wednesday morning, leading to the deaths of two individuals and injuries sustained from gunshots during the chaos, as reported by an AFP journalist. The situation has prompted President Bola Tinubu to schedule a visit to the city on Thursday. This latest wave of violence follows the fatal shooting of approximately 30 people in a bar over the weekend, an incident that has spurred allegations on social media, though unsubstantiated, that Christians were targeted on Palm Sunday. Jos, located in the north-central part of Nigeria, is a city where Christians and Muslims coexist but also harbor deep ethnic and religious tensions that have previously erupted into deadly riots.
In response to the escalating violence, the University of Jos has ordered the evacuation of its student housing from Wednesday through Thursday, with the state government providing transport. Jos, the capital of Plateau state, is characterized by a mixed population that has historically seen both peaceful coexistence and violent conflict. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s office issued a statement announcing his visit to Jos, where he aims to “commiserate with the government and people of the state over the recent gun attacks, which claimed the lives of innocent citizens.”.
The identity of the mobsters and their intended targets remains unclear. Sani Danladi Marshall, a used car dealer, witnessed the attack on a commuter taxi. “They hit one of them with stones, they hit him again till he died.
They pushed his dead body into a ditch, “Marshall recounted to AFP. Another victim, Usman Musa, 31, was shot by unknown assailants and is currently receiving treatment at the Ghambazi hospital. His colleague, Jibril Nasir, 28, who also works in the tin mining sector, was present at the scene and stated that he did not know who shot at them.
Wednesday’s disturbances included a crowd of people smashing cars, setting a “keke “tricycle taxi ablaze, and large numbers of people running for safety. Streets were largely deserted by Wednesday afternoon as security forces, including the military, were deployed around the city. At times, they resorted to shooting into the air to disperse crowds.
The Red Cross was unable to provide a death toll for Wednesday’s incidents, although AFP witnessed victims being transported in its vehicles. The military has not commented on the unrest, but they did repost a video on X of troops assisting two elderly women into a vehicle in a Jos neighborhood.
In the Plateau state countryside, a persistent conflict between farmers and herders over land access continues to fuel tensions. This ethnic and religious conflict exacerbates the political volatility in a state where ethnicity, religion, and indigenous status are highly charged issues. The general curfew imposed on Monday and Tuesday was intended to reduce the likelihood of further attacks, but Sunday’s massacre in Anguwan Rukuba, a neighborhood popular with students and staff, indicates the ongoing threat. While most of the shooting victims are presumed to be Christian, a local Muslim group claimed that four of its members were killed in the violence.
Source: Africanews
