RESIDENTS KILLED, HOUSES BURNT IN FRESH KADUNA RELIGIOUS CRISIS
RESIDENTS KILLED, HOUSES BURNT IN FRESH KADUNA RELIGIOUS CRISIS
•El-Rufai orders arrest, CAN condemns violence
Some residents
were reportedly killed and many houses burnt in fresh religious violence
that broke out in Kasuwan Magani community in Kajuru Local Government Area of
Kaduna State yesterday.
The
police have deployed armed personnel in the troubled commercial town which is
about 36 kilometres away from Kaduna metropolis.
According
to an eyewitness account, about 20 persons were injured in the fracas between
Christian and Moslem youths. Property worth millions of naira, including
vehicles, were burnt by the irate youths.
The eyewitness said the crisis erupted following a misunderstanding between
some Christian and Muslim youths over an alleged conversion of two Christian
girls into Islam.
But
some residents of the area, including Ahmadu Dogo and Jummai, told journalists
that attempts by Christian and Moslem youths to stop their girls from dating
their male counterparts from religions different from theirs was the major
cause of the violence. They said some people were killed during the fracas.
The
Sole Administrator of the local government, Aminu Rabiu, said the “disagreement
among the Christian and Moslem youths led to the loss of lives, property and
peace in the area.”
He
said the quick response of the security agencies helped in restoring order.
“We have already evacuated the injured persons to the hospital and they are responding to treatment.”
“We have already evacuated the injured persons to the hospital and they are responding to treatment.”
Rabiu
appealed to the residents to embrace the culture of living in peace.
The
Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mr. Murkhtar Aliyu, confirmed the
incident and said security agents had been drafted to restore peace.
“There
are casualties, but I cannot ascertain the number at the moment. But I can
assure you, peace has been restored to the area,” he said.
Governor
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has ordered arrest and prosecution of the culprits.
In
a statement, El-Rufai’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, said the governor directed
the prosecution of the masterminds shortly after receiving a preliminary report
on the mayhem.
Aruwan
said the government had sympathised with the victims and their families and
directed the State Emergency Management Agency to take an inventory of damage
and provide relief materials immediately.
Meanwhile,
clerics under the Northern Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) have
condemned the religious violence.
In
their reaction to the inci dent, the northern CAN’s Public Relations Officer,
Reverend John Hayap said religious leaders must intensify the teaching of right
doctrines to their followers.
He
said it was sad for youths and followers of two prominent religions in northern
Nigeria “in this age of education and technology to be fighting and killing
each other because of religion or boy friend and girl friend matter.
“If they don’t have good knowledge of their faith, then their exposure to this
modern era should help them stop this shameful act.”
According
to CAN, leaders of these youths from both faiths should see this as a sign of
failure to teach good morals and the importance of the sanctity of life.
“How
can a well-informed religious person fight another because he or she befriends
someone from another faith? This is not only shameful but a display of a high
level of ignorance.
“Both
Christian and Muslim clerics from our religions must step up their teachings to
eradicate this shameful act,” he said.