Twin bomb blasts rocks Plateau's capital

There has been two explosions, suspected to be car bombs, in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Tuesday, May 20, 2014.

According to eyewitnesses, the heavy explosions were heard at about 2:55 pm around the Jos Main Market, between Railway Terminus and temporary site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital.

An eyewitness who spoke with The Trent said the number of casualties cannot be ascertained at this time. There are reports that the dead are more than 200. Nigeria’s disaster management agency puts the dead at 142, the police says it is 48.

As more information continues to emerge, this is a very sad time in our country’s history.

Eyewitness said the explosions shook the entire area causing major panic in the area.

The bombs were primed to inflict maximum casualties as they exploded few minutes apart, Sahara Reporters reports

The explosion shook the entire area.

According to reports, the first explosion was from a Peugeot J5 van, with registration number XG 148 BLD, while the second blast was carried out with a Toyota van, with a Gombe state license plate number.

An eyewitness who spoke with Sahara Reporters said that the Toyota van had been abandoned since 6:00 a. m. Tuesday morning.

The source reports that about five residents of the area had informed police officials about the mysterious and mysterious van parked in their area, but no police arrived at the scene and nothing was done about it.

 A beeping sound was heard right before the explosions, residents say.

-sahara reporters

Back-to-back bomb blasts killed at least 118 people and wounded 45 in the crowded business district of the central Nigerian city of Jos on Tuesday, emergency services said, in an attack that appeared to bear the hallmarks of the Boko Haram insurgents.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the militant group Boko Haram, which has set off bombs across the north and center of Nigeria in an increasingly bloody campaign for an Islamic state, was likely to be the prime suspect in what would rank among their deadliest single attacks in five years of insurrection.