Whenever Boko Haram wishes to send a strong message to the Nigerian state or the world, it attacks Jos city or in rare occasions Abuja.
This is hardly surprising, because Jos, even though not the capital of Nigeria – is still very symbolic and strategic to the Boko Haram propaganda of attempting to conquer states southward of Borno, as they continue with their ambition to establish an Islamic state which spans Maiduguri to the Atlantic coast of Lagos.

In furtherance of this dastard ambition, yesterday, Thursday 26th February, the terrorist again detonated two bombs in succession around Bauchi Road, Jos. This was the first bomb attacks of 2015 in Plateau State – this follows the last twin bomb blasts of 10th December 2014 at Mr. Biggs, Terminus. For the record, the bombs of yesterday killed over 20 people -so really unfortunate.

Whenever Boko Haram wishes to send a strong message to the Nigerian state or the world, it attacks Jos city or in rare occasions Abuja.
This is hardly surprising, because Jos, even though not the capital of Nigeria – is still very symbolic and strategic to the Boko Haram propaganda of attempting to conquer states southward of Borno. Especially as they continue with their ambition of establishing an Islamic state which spans from the arid Sambisa forests of Maiduguri to the Atlantic coast of Lagos.

In furtherance of this dastard ambition, yesterday, Thursday 26th February, the terrorist again detonated two bombs in succession around Bauchi Road, Jos. This was the first bomb attacks of 2015 in Plateau State – this follows the last twin bomb blasts of 10th December 2014 at Mr. Biggs, Terminus. For the record, the bombs of yesterday killed over 20 people -so really unfortunate.

The fact that the terrorist were able to pull-off the heinous act, is significant because it shows that they can still attack targets, even when they are under severe siege by the Nigerian army. To put some context to that, the Nigerian Army is currently launching severe assaults on the terrorist strongholds in Maiduguri, Adamawa and Yobe – making significant gains by recapturing key towns previously held by the terrorist. For instance, Baga, Kondugo, Mubi, Gwoza, Mungono which were previously held by the terrorist have now been recaptured. Even President Goodluck Jonathan who was quoted as saying he could not visit the area because of potent threats was able to visit Mubi and Baga yesterday -quite ironic!

Moving on, it would interest you to know, that before the Bomb blast of yesterday, Boko haram had only bombed a few other cities in the North this year (i.e., 2015). Its attention from January till date was squarely focussed on conquering cities in the North east in order to expand its so called caliphate.

However, now that the military has suddenly risen up and is taking back these hitherto conquered territories, the Boko Haram appears to have changed their tactics, back to its previous strategy of isolated bombing attacks in key towns -like it used to do in 2012, 2013 and early 2014.

These guerrilla bomb attacks in our opinion will continue, especially as we approach the 2015 general elections –ViewPointNigeria analyst forecasts that the incidents of these sort shall escalate as we approach March 28th. There would be several lone wolf attacks by these terrorists, especially in Northern Nigeria and potentially in Jos – Plateau.

Based on this clear and present danger, our analysts sat down with security experts and have identified key areas which may be prone to attacks by Boko Haram as election day approaches.

These are mainly areas with high population density, with largely homogenous make-ups (potentially mainly indigenous tribes). Some of these locations are also on our list because they are close to known terrorist hubs and may not have high security presence (check points or soldiers).

The areas of significant vulnerability are mainly communities in Jos North and South, particularly around –Bauchi road, Angwan Rukuba, Legislative quarters, Abbatoir, Gada Biu, University of Jos Community, Zaria Road, West of Mines, Hwolshe, Kabong, Gyel, Zawan, Federal & State Locost etc.

This is simply a forecast from ViewPointNigeria’s analyst and it is not to say that these areas are in any imminent danger, except for the fact that our analysis (which we are currently undertaking and will publish soon), shows that they rank high on our vulnerability list.

As always, the watch word is to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the relevant authorities, but beyond everything -let us remain focus and committed to building a strong and united Plateau.

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Other Communities in Jos May Be Attacked by Boko Haram