Four killed, houses torched as Jos boils again

After a lull, Jos, the Plateau State capital, was in the news again on Tuesday night. As usual, for the wrong reason.
Youths took up arms against themselves over the killing of two occupants of a motorcycle by a speeding car, leading to the death of two others.
Scores of houses were torched in the incident which happened in Babale Village, Jos North Local Government.
Religious tension rose as the man who drove the Peugeot 406 Station Wagon vehicle is a Muslim while those killed were Christians.
Freedom Online learnt that the driver was trying to avoid a ditch in front of a church when he knocked down the two occupants of the motorcycle.
Some residents said the ditch was dug by the church to force motorists on the Jos/Bauchi road to slow down to avoid knocking down members.
Some villagers, after the duo were knocked down, insisted that the ditch must be closed up but some members of the church refused, insisting that the driver sped recklessly.
This led to open confrontation as youths started fighting themselves with cudgels, knives and sticks, leading to the death of two youths.
Houses were also torched.
It took the intervention of anti-riot mobile policemen before peace could be restored to the area on Wednesday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Emmanuel Abu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident.