Nigeria

Security forces shoot ten civilians in Jos

Article published on the 2008-11-30 Latest update 2008-11-30 18:37 TU

Nigerian soldiers patrol the city of Jos.
(Credit: Reuters)

Nigerian police shot dead ten civilians in the city of Jos early on Sunday. The ten had been in breach of a curfew that is in place after clashes between Muslims and Christians left hundreds of people dead after two days of clashes.

"[The ten people] were shot by the police and they were taken to the Jos central morgue. I saw these corpses with my eyes and I counted the ten number this morning" correspondent Aminu Manu said.

 

The Plateau State Information Minister, Nuhu Gagara, on Sunday confirmed the death of hundreds of civilians. He put the figure at 200, based on figures released by the police, but said the figure was "just preliminary".

He said a search and rescue committee was in the process of recovering dead bodies around the city of Jos.

Five hundred people were arrested on Saturday carrying lethal weapons Gagara said.

Correspondent Nuhu Gagara said however that Jos was relatively calm on Sunday. He counted over 350 bodies yesterday and said burials were taking place today.

He confirmed that the police are still authorised to shoot anyone who defied the curfew currently in force.

"The police have been given the mandate to shoot at sight" he says, "That has been the order they are carrying out which is now resulting to the subsequent killings".