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Relative calm
returned to Jos on Sunday after violence rocked some parts of the city
on Saturday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the streets were
once more busy after they were totally deserted by residents who
scurried to safety when reports of the fracas first broke out around
11.45am. NAN also reports that many christians went to church while
some petty traders displayed their wares.

Police Commissioner
Abdulrahman Akano confirmed that “only about three” people died during
the crisis which took place around Bauchi Road, but unconfirmed sources
put the figure at between 11 and 13. There were also reports of
midnight clashes in some parts of Ungwan-Maidoki and Bukuru in Jos
South Local Government Area after some youth began reprisal attacks
when the corpse of a youth was found near a school in Ungwan-Maidoki.
Security personnel patrolled the area throughout the night, NAN learnt.

The cause of
Saturday’s violence could not be ascertained, but Mr Akano blamed it on
a clash among members of the Congress for Progressive Change who wanted
to hold their state congress. He told journalists that the party sought
police permission to use a particular venue but later changed it
without informing the police, resulting in a clash between factions in
the political group. Another version also traced the violence to the
reported killing of about eight people who were travelling to attend a
wedding ceremony in Mangu.

The state
government, in a statement signed by James Mannok, director of press
affairs, confirmed the police version that the riot was caused by the
planned CPC congress, but also directed the police and the Special Task
Force to quickly unearth the cause of the violence.

“The state government has also directed that culprits be brought to justice,” Mr Mannok said.

Spokesperson for
the Special Task Force, Charles Ekeocha, who blamed the riot on the CPC
congress, confirmed that the party got police permission to hold the
congress in “one particular hotel, but later changed the venue.”

“That situation created some disagreements among the CPC members and resulted into attacks by political thugs,” he told NAN.

The latest violence is a continuation of the trouble that has brewed
in Plateau over the last few years as tribal, religious and community
groups have continued to attack one other in what is seen as a fight
over the control of Jos, the state capital. On Christmas Eve, bombs
exploded in several parts of the city, killing scores of people, while
many more were injured. The federal government last year set up a
presidential committee to investigate the cause of the riots and to
proffer solutions. The committee, led by Solomon Lar, submitted its
report to President Goodluck Jonathan in October.