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One week and two
days after Jos, the Plateau State capital was hit by multiple bomb
blasts that claimed several lives, the Plateau State Inter-Faith
Committee has issued a communiqué condemning the incident.

At the Plateau
Special Task Force (STF) headquarters, located at the Hill Station
Junction along Tudun Wada, Jos, the secretary of the Plateau State
Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhassan Shuaibu, and the Plateau State
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman, Mwelbish Dafes, spoke
against the segregation of Muslims and Christians, while expressing
condolences to victims of the explosion and reprisals that followed.

“We discourage
segregation, but rather call on the government to provide a conducive
atmosphere for both Christians and Muslims to continue to live together
as brothers and sisters in good neighbourliness,” the statement read.

The inter-faith
committee comprising members of the Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) and members of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) after two days of
consultation with the commander of the Plateau Special Task Force
(STF), Hassan Umaru, in the evening of January 2, 2010, denounced all
killings in the name of religion.

“We condemn all
forms of attacks and secret killings being carried out by criminals in
the name of religion and ask government to guarantee the safety of all
lives and properties. We hereby task the government of Plateau State
and all security agencies in the state to bring to book all
perpetrators of this evil and ungodly act,” read the communiqué.

Speaking on the
development, Mr. Dafes, said the failure of successive governments to
apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of previous crises that have
rocked Plateau State over the years is to be blamed.

“We’ve been asking
the government to bring these people to book. But we’ve not seen any
one punished. So it is the failure of the government. We as a church
are just the spiritual leaders to the people. We don’t have the power
of the law to prosecute,” said Mr. Dafes.

Both religious
leaders said they are committed to continue working together “for the
course of peaceful co-existence of all those who live in Plateau State,
irrespective of tribe or religion.”