No fewer than 118 people have been confirmed killed in bomb explosions that rocked Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Tuesday.
The explosions occurred at the Terminus Market.
The North Central Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said late on Tuesday that no fewer than 118 persons have been confirmed dead.
Abdulsalam said the figure could rise by Wednesday morning.
He said: “We have now recovered 118 bodies from the rubble.
“This could rise by morning as there is still some rubble we haven’t shifted.”
Abdulsalam put the number of injured at 56.
The Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, Chris Olakpe, had earlier put the death toll at 46, with 45 injured.
According to Olakpe, the first bomber came in a Fiat bus and parked at the market’s central business area.
“The second blast, which was concealed in a Siena bus, happened 100 metres away from the first one,” he said.
Olakpe said that the casualty figures were collated after visits to Plateau Specialist Hospital and Bingham Hospital, Jos.
“Like I told you, there should be more because we have not gone to the new and old Jos University Teaching Hospitals,” he further explained.
The police commissioner said that comprehensive details of casualties could be determined after the security teams had visited the two health establishments.
Olapke said that the market had been cordoned off and urged members of the public to steer away from the affected place in their own interest.
“Men of our anti-bomb unit will comb the market before it is declared safe for business activities to continue,” he said.
He advised members of the public to always avoid the temptation of rushing to bomb scenes, adding that people around such scenes should quickly lie down for “at least 30 minutes” before scurrying to safety.
The police chief advised Nigerians to be security conscious in every environment they found themselves.
“We also expect people to promptly report any suspicious character to the security agencies,” he said.
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