By Taye Obateru, Ejura Adama & Hauwa Bala
Residents of the Plateau State capital who were still counting the death toll from the series of attacks on villages and other forms of violence arising from an ethno-religious crisis that have refused to end were jolted by two blasts on Sunday night.

The twin blasts occurred at the busy West of Mines Junction popular as a bustling relaxation spot where drinks, roasted fish, chicken and beef are sold. A number of restaurants and bars where people relax over drinks also dot the area.

Steven Samaila, an injured victim and his brother

At normal periods, the area is crowded with vehicles as fun-loving people gather around the barbecue hotspots waiting for their cat or croaker fish popularly called “point and kill” to be roasted and garnished for consumption. The news of the blast therefore made the imagination of many who knew how crowded the place could be run wild with many predicting that like the bombing at the UN House in Abuja or the Christmas Eve blasts in Jos, a lot of people would have been killed.

Fortuitously,  by divine intervention or probably as a result of the unending crisis and rumours of plans to bomb some places in the city which had been rife for some weeks, the usual crowd in the area was absent on the fateful Sunday when the blasts occurred at about 8.15 pm.

It was alleged that some young men posing to be customers who came in two cars might have dropped the improvised explosive devices as bomb experts call them, at two different points in the area and timed them to explode at in interval of five minutes.

The blasts went off as planned but did not do the damage envisaged by the planters.  There was no death and only about five people had what could be considered as minor injuries.  Some of those knocked to the ground by the blasts later revived. There was also no extensive damage to nearby buildings.

Nevertheless, it was a horrid reminder of the Christmas Eve blasts in two parts of the state in which many were killed or maimed. The sound of the blast alone, according to eyewitnesses, made people scamper into various directions for fear of more blasts as it happened in the previous blasts.

For Steven Samaila who sells recharge cards in the area, it was a lucky escape. One of the blasts occurred not too far from where he was and although he was injured on both legs and his hand, he is grateful to God for sparing his life.  “I was sitting under my umbrella where I sell recharge cards.

I don’t know what exactly happened but I suddenly found myself on the ground away from where I was sitting”, he told Saturday Vanguard amid pains from his injury. His brother who took over the narration said after the blasts, he saw Steven coming from the direction of the blast with blood dripping from his hands.

“At first we thought he only injured his hands but we discovered that he had injuries on both legs, so my friend  and I rushed him to Bingham University Teaching Hospital where he received treatment.”

Samaila who still had bandage on both legs and his hands said he has spent over N10, 000 on his treatment lamented that patronage had dropped in the area because people now see it as a dangerous spot.  “Our business is not booming like before. The level of patronage by customers has dropped because of fear.

We are really suffering and we are calling on the government to take seriously security measures or else our source of livelihood will be taken away”, he stressed.

Joy Jonathan who owns a barbecue spot was luckier. According to her, “On the night of the explosion, I was packaging an order made by a customer when suddenly I heard a sound, ‘boom!’ a little distance away.  My brothers and sisters that were with me all ran away leaving me behind.

So when I looked around  and realized that people were running, I also took to my heels  leaving  my wares and phone behind .While  I was running my brother  stopped me and asked ‘’where you dey go.” I became confused because I obviously didn’t know where I was heading to. As I stood, I realized that I left my phone behind so I turned back to get it.

As I was picking the phone I heard the second explosion ‘boom!’ this time very close to me so I ran away without coming back to pick any of my things. However, my neighbour brought my wares and phone back home. Despite the blasts I resumed my business the next day but we are still nursing fear of the unknown, fear of what might happen next.”

Also speaking to Saturday Vanguard, Lohna Lar who runs a restaurant in the area described it as an unforgettable experience. “On the day of the explosion, I was serving my customers who had ordered different dishes on the menu. It was a very busy day with customers trooping in and making orders. In fact, that Sunday was the first time since the August 29 crisis that we had such patronage.

Then all of a sudden, I heard  the blast which shook the whole area. Then I shouted  ‘e don happen’ because there had been rumours of impending attack on this street . We were just running to different directions. Before I could reach the other end of the street close to a sign post I heard another blast, so I became confused, not knowing where to turn to.

To be honest, I can’t really explain how I escaped, it’s just God. My only consolation though is that since I resumed business there has been police patrol at night.”

For now, normalcy has returned to the area even though as some of them said, the level of patronage is still down as people rush home once dusk is approaching. Many residents expressed hope that the security and other measures recently announced by President Goodluck Jonathan would help restore peace to the state.