Residents in the the Nasarawa Gown area of Jos in Plateau State flee for safety. (Photo Courtesy Vanguard)

Jos — Following the Sunday crisis in Jos, the Chief Imam of Jos Central Mosque Sheik Balarabe Dawud has appealed to the Muslim Ummah in the state to be calm.

Sheik Dawud who spoke with newsmen at the Jos Central Mosque yesterday said though there were various accounts of the actual cause of the crisis, Muslims in the state should remain calm in the interest of peace. He said the actual cause of the crisis would be got from those who witnessed the incident, saying he was not in a position to say specifically what happened as he had just returned from a journey.

He said it was time authorities in the country rose up to the occasion by getting to the root of the crises and taking measures that would put an end to violence in the country. The imam said he would meet other religious leaders in the state to address the issue to ensure that the violence does not escalate. He called on the federal and state governments to come to the aid of those who lost their property in the crisis.

Speaking in this same vein, the Deputy Speaker of the Plateau House of Assembly Alahji Ibrahim Baba Hassane called on youths to eschew violence. Baba Hassan who went round the affected areas yesterday said it was unfortunate that another violence could occur in the state barely a year after the last one in which many people lost their lives and called on the people of the state to embrace peace and dialogue.