Wukari calm after sectarian riot over soccer pitch

Normalcy has returned to the central Nigerian town of Wukari after sectarian riots that led to the death of one person and the burning of over 100 homes, including churches and mosques.

The riot began after a disagreement over a pitch by youths, split on religious lines, at a football training session.

The Police Public Relations Office (PPRO), Mr Amos Olaoye said the disagreement turned violent after a youth was accidentally killed.

“While the two sides were arguing, a local hunter returning from the bush was passing and the two sides made for his gun, which resulted in a struggle. The gun went off, killing one person, and fighting broke off between the two sides, ” said Olaoye.

In the ensuing mayhem, dangerous weapons were used by the youths, while residents were forced to flee their homes.

The police spokesman said that some of the injured victims were being treated at the General Hospital, Wukari and other health centres in the town.

Olaoye said that teams of heavily armed anti-riot policemen had been dispatched to the town to restore peace.

He said the police would conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the crisis.

The state’s Acting Governor, Alhaji Garuba Umar, has also declared a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the town to prevent the escalation of the crisis.

“The government has placed a 24-hour curfew on Wukari following security advice from relevant security agencies with a view to bringing normalcy in the town which has been enmeshed in violence,” Taraba information commissioner Emmanuel Bello said.