39 Killed, 30 Injured In Taraba Religious Violence

More deaths have been reported in the bloody clash between Christian and muslim mobs in Wukari, Taraba state, in the North eastern Nigeria. Scores of houses were also set ablaze.

The latest official report said 39 people died, 19 more than earlier reported, and 30 were injured in the fierce fighting.

“We have so far compiled a death toll of 39 people while 30 others were seriously injured,” state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji said on Saturday.

Local residents said that the death toll could rise.

“Thirty-two houses have also been destroyed in the violence,” Kwaji said of the unrest which has prompted authorities to impose an indefinite all-round curfew in the predominantly Christian city, adding that 40 suspects were arrested in the aftermath of the violence.

Taraba State commissioner for information, Emmanuel Bello said that extra troops were deployed to the city on Saturday to bolster security.

“We have deployed more troops today to Wukari to ensure that the situation, which has been brought under control, is strengthened,” he told AFP.

The police spokesman Kwaji said Friday’s violence erupted when the funeral procession of a traditional chief from the predominantly Christian Jukun ethnic group marched through a Muslim neighbourhood chanting slogans, which Muslims viewed as an act of provocation.

Spokesman for the state governor, Kefas Sule said after the fighting that “The state acting governor has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Wukari which is aimed at restoring normalcy in the town”.

Tensions have been on the rise in Wukari since February, when a dispute over the use of a football pitch between Muslim and Christian soccer teams set off sectarian riots that claimed several lives.

Friday’s violence came a day after the state government inaugurated a committee to investigate the February violence.