20120818
AFP
A bomb blast in the volatile central Nigerian city of Jos has injured a civilian and damaged a police station as well as nearby houses, an army spokesman said on Friday.

"The police post, three other houses and a vehicle were affected by the blast. One person by the name Alhaji Abubakar Adam was injured," Special Task Force spokesman in the city, Captain Salisu Mustapha, said in a statement.

The bomb exploded late Thursday between the police station and a residential building in the Muslim-dominated Rikkos district of Jos, capital of Plateau state.

Plateau has seen violent clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups as well as attacks blamed on Islamist militants Boko Haram. It lies in the middle belt region between the mainly Christian south and majority Muslim north.

"It is clear that the police station was the target of the attack," Mustapha told AFP.

Nigeria has tightened security ahead of this weekend's Eid celebrations, and two main prayer grounds in Jos where violence has previously occurred have been put off-limits, with alternative areas provided.