At least 25 people were killed in violent clashes,
at the weekend, between Christian and Muslim
mobs in Taraba State, prompting a round-the-
clock curfew, an aid worker has said. This happened as gunmen suspected to be
armed robbers killed three persons in Yola,
Adamawa State capital. The toll of the weekend violence reached 32
after local government elections in Kogi State
left four, including an aspirant, dead. “We have recovered 20 bodies from the
violence so far,” the Taraba aid workers said
about the Friday unrest in the town of Wukari,
some 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the state
capital Jalingo. “We are still going round the town in search of
more bodies,” he said on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorised to
speak to the media about death tolls. Authorities have imposed a curfew in the area
following the bloody clashes, officials said. Local residents said the 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. Tensions have been on the rise in the mostly
Christian town of 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. In the Adamawa incident, the three victim were
killed at a popular shopping centre in Vinikland
along the every busy Yola – Mubi Road. Eyewitnesses said the gunmen earlier robbed
an NNPC Mega Filling Station and another
private filling station before they proceeded to
the shopping centre.
According to the eyewitnesses, the gunmen
drove to the filling stations and the shopping
centre in a Peugeot 406 car as they pretended
to be customers before carrying out their
operations. At the two petrol stations, it was gathered that
their sales for the day were carted away by the
gunmen. Two of the victims of the incident at the
shopping centre were said to be to staffers of
a new generation bank in Adamawa, though
this could not be ascertained at press time. Following the incident, the ever busy Yola –
Mubi Road linking Borno, Yobe and other parts
of the North East sub-region was cordoned by
a joint military operation. It was not clear whether arrests were made,
though the state police command confirmed
the robbery incident. Kogi: Polls violence
In Kogi State, yesterday, violence marred
council polls in some local government areas
with four persons reported dead and an
election office razed. A councillorship aspirant in Awo Ward 1 in
Ojoku District of Ankpa, Adonis Omeh, one of
the victims, was, on Friday night, allegedly shot
at close range by unknown assailants. Omeh,
who allegedly contested the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the ward with two others, was said to be returning from a
meeting with party members when he met his
untimely death. Reports from Odu Ward 1 in Dekina Local
Government said two persons were killed
during a clash between PDP and ACN
supporters over distribution of electoral
materials. The identities of the victims (both from the
governor’s ward) could not be ascertained. At Alloma, former Governor Abubakar Audu’s
home town, Mr John Okpanachi, a youth leader,
was allegedly shot dead by assailants in police
uniform for challenging them over non-receipt
of electoral materials. The assailants were said to have also abducted
the ACN councillorship candidate in the area,
Mallam Danjuma Yunusa, along side some
youths who were thrown into their vans and
driven away. Confirming the incidents, Kogi Police Public
Relations Officer, DSP, Amadi Nwaneri, said only
one person was killed in Dekina and was yet to
get the reports on the Awo and Alloma killings. In MopaMuro, the Deputy Governor’s Local
Government, elections were marred by people
suspected to be members of the opposition
who stalled the polls till noon. The Deputy Governor, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, said:
“From Friday night the opposition were playing
out their words to stop the elections. For six
hours this morning, they were causing riot and
beating people. We had to call for (police)
reinforcement before they could allow materials to be used. You can go to the hospital
to access for yourself”. One of the victims, Mr. Juwon Elekula, who is
the NULGE secretary and was to serve as
presiding Officer, said he was dealt machete
blows on the head when he insisted to conduct
the elections. Election office razed
The state Independent Electoral Commission
office in Bassa local government area of the
state along with election materials were burnt
by unidentified party supporters on Friday
night. Dino’s arrest
The spokesperson for the opposition in Kogi,
Dino Melaye, was arrested on the eve of
election but released four hours later. Dino, leading a protest from the G.R.A, Lokoja,
was accosted at the Kogi Hotel Roundabout
and apprehended by security personnel
shortly after addressing a press conference
stating the opposition’s stand to boycott the
council polls.