‘36 Igbo traders killed in Jos blasts’
Boko Haram kills four soldiers
The twin bomb blasts that exploded in Jos Terminus market last week killed 36 Igbo traders. 42 others from South-east part of the country were also injured in the explosion. The Eze Igbo Jos, Prof. Jerome Obilom, told journalist on Monday in Jos.
Prof. Obilom added that several Igbo traders are still missing since the blasts which reportedly killed over 100 people, many of whom were burnt beyond recognition.
He said, “36 of our members were killed in the May 20 explosions that rocked Jos market. 42 others were injured in the incident.
“In addition, many others are still unaccounted for while Igbo traders lost goods worth millions of naira.
“But our major problem now is the move by the state government to give mass burial to the victims without informing members of the community especially we Igbos. It is our tradition not to bury our own outside our homestead.
“Some hospital authorities were very hostile when the community led by the Chairman of the Igbo Community Association, Chief Jonah Ezekwueme, visited them to identify victims of the blasts who were of Igbo extraction.
“There is the need to compensate victims of the bomb blasts. In the past incidents, the Ndigbos were neglected and made to bear the cost of burying and rehabilitating their members alone.”
Meanwhile, unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram militants have killed four soldiers attached to the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis.
The soldiers were reportedly killed in an ambush by the gunmen.
The incidence took place at a remote village in Jos South local government of Plateau State called Gida-Bua. The village is over 300 kilometer away from Jos.
The Chairman of Langtang South local government area, Bendel Nancwat, who could not confirm the incident, said, “I just got the report but I have not gone there to confirm it.”