8.4 C
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tension In Kachia As Youths Destroy Church, Mosques

Published:

LATEST NEWS

- Advertisement -

Shalom-Pentecostal-Church-after-the-bombing1

Violence erupted yesterday in Kachia town, the headquarters of Kachia local government area of Kaduna State, leading to the burning down of three worship places.

 

There had been tension in the town since the destruction of a part of the fence of an Eid (Sallah) ground.

 

A source told newsmen that trouble started yesterday morning “when we woke up and found out that the fence of the Eid ground had been demolished”.

 

The source added: “A church and a mosque were burnt. Many houses, shops were also burnt in our area.”

 

A resident of the area told newsmen said that the rioters had targeted and destroyed some houses and shops in the town. “The rioters have also attacked and burnt down Nassara Baptist Church… I can confirm that Nassara Baptist Church was set ablaze by angry Muslim youths and, in retaliation, Christians youths set two mosques ablaze. Two houses and many shops have also been set ablaze. There are reports of killing but that I cannot confirm,” said our source.

 

It was learnt that the town is now filled with army, navy and police personnel. “Except something concrete is done on the issue of this land, there will be a serious problem in Kachia soon because some people are hell-bent on causing problems here,” he said.

 

Another eyewitness who preferred anonymity confirmed that trouble started when some youths woke up and discovered that one part of the fence that surrounded the Muslims’ Eid ground that was earlier renovated and fenced had been damaged by unknown persons.

READ ALSO  Fire Guts Chinyere Udoma's Music Studio, Destroys Property Worth Millions of Naira

 

“And upon the discovery that the fence had broken down, we reported the incident to the local government chairman, Mr Peter Agite, who promised to foot the bills of the renovation of the damaged portion but failed to do so until today (yesterday) when we sighted another damage done to the holy ground. Some youths could not tolerate it and then started protesting,” said our source.

 

The source added that the youth suspected that members of a nearby church were responsible for the continuous damage of the prayer ground and decided to take revenge by descending on the church and demolishing it too.

 

Following the damage done to the church, it was gathered that Christian youths also embarked on a reprisal and set fire to some mosques in the area.

 

A top government functionary from Kachia local government recalled that “two weeks ago, some youth went to fence Muslims’ prayer ground known as Eid to prevent encroachment of people into the ground but they couldn’t finish the work that day; and when they went back, they discovered that a portion of the fence was demolished by unknown persons”.

 

“The youths alerted the local government chairman, Mr Peter Agaite, and he promised to repair the damaged portion but failed to do so.

 

“Today (yesterday) when the youth went back to continue the work, they saw another portion of the ground damaged again. And out of suspicion they demolished a nearby church.

READ ALSO  Stakeholders Lament Poor Reading Culture in the Society, As US-based Doctor Donates 8,000 Books to Anambra State Library

 

“The youths of the demolished church did not take it lightly, and they too started demolishing a nearby mosque, and there was tension and panic everywhere in Kachia and environs,” said the government official.

 

A 24-hour curfew was immediately imposed on Kachia local government area to avoid the crisis escalating into other parts of the state.

 

Although some damage had been done before the imposition of the curfew, the Kaduna State police command, through the police public relations officer, SP Aminu Lawan, told newsmen on telephone that “the situation is under control as our men are fully on ground. No life was lost but we don’t have the number of worship places that were burnt. We will let you know in due course as we don’t want to give wrong figures”.

 

There were reports of killings as at the time of filing this report.

 

A top government official, who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen that there was still exchange of fire despite the curfew imposed by the government: “I cannot tell you how many people are dead now, but I can confirm to you there is a number of casualties in all the warring sides. Places of worship and houses have been razed down. There are gunshots everywhere in the town.”

Hey there! Exciting news - we've deactivated our website's comment provider to focus on more interactive channels! Join the conversation on our stories through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media pages, and let's chat, share, and connect in the best way possible!

Join our social media

For even more exclusive content!

spot_imgspot_imgspot_img

Of The Week
CARTOON

TOP STORIES

- Advertisement -

Of The Week
CARTOON

247Ureports Protects its' news articles from plagiarism as an important part of maintaining the integrity of our website.