Jos – Two persons, believed to have been out to bomb some places of worship were killed on Sunday when their bombs exploded in their faces.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bomb exploded between the two places of worship while the faithful had assembled.

The faithful ran in all directions at the sound of the explosion, a situation that effectively ended the worship sessions.

The incident generated lots of confusion in Jos and environs as various versions of the incident filtered into the city with some versions claiming that some others were either killed or injured in the stampede.

NAN also reports that many other faithful returned home for fear of being hit.

As at mid-day, the city centre was deserted as fear-stricken people ran into different directions for fear of fresh explosions.

Plateau Police Commissioner Abdulrahman Akano, who confirmed the incident, told NAN that  the places of worship were not affected.

The police commissioner said: “Today, two men believed to be carrying explosives on them rode on a motorcycle along Nasarawa Gwong.

“On getting to Dualla junction, the explosives exploded on them. The two persons lost their lives in the incident.”

He also said that youths in the area set the two corpses ablaze.

He added that men of the Police Anti-Bomb Squad had been deployed to the area while security personnel were drafted to the scene to ensure that normalcy returned.

Akano urged members of the public to go about their lawful pursuits as security personnel were on top of the situation while urging the public to give peace a chance.

Brig. Gen Hassan Umaru, Commander, military Special Task Force (STF) , however, told NAN that he was on his way to the area and was yet to get details of the incident.

Among witnesses of the explosion was a journalist, Raymond Gukas, the Plateau correspondent of the Champion Newspapers, who said he “narrowly escaped’’ along with his family.

He said that the explosion shattered the windscreen of his car, but that he escaped unhurt.

-Vanguard