VEECUBED community: NIGERIA: Curfew bars Christians, Muslims from worship in Kafanchan

The 24-hour curfew imposed on Kafanchan town in Jema’a local government area of Kaduna state has barred Muslims and Christians from going to their places of worship on Friday and yesterday, respectively.

Thousands of residents prayed in their homes as armed soldiers and police were stationed in strategic locations, watching over the troubled town and ensuring strict compliance to the security arrangement.

The 24-hour curfew was imposed on Friday morning, following the crisis that broke out in the town between the ‘Hausa-Fulani’ community and ‘indigenous’ southern Kaduna ethnic groups.

About five persons were said to have lost their lives, while several others sustained injuries, leading the chairman of the local government, Hon. Dan Amos, to impose a 24- hour curfew on the town so as to avoid escalation of the situation.
A resident of the area, Mr. Peter Garba, told our reporter that the town was still very quiet.
He said: “We are still indoors. There was no Juma’at prayers for Muslims in Kafanchan town on Friday, and yesterday, being Sunday, it was the same thing for Christians.

He added that hundreds of people were trapped in the town. Some, he said, were in hotels.
The chairman of the local government could not be reached for his comment, but a serving councillor II of Fadan Kagoma Ward, Hon. Nehemiah Madugu, confirmed that the curfew was still in force.