Youths Destroy Churches, Mosques in Southern Kaduna

A church and two mosques have been destroyed by youths in Kachia town, Southern Kaduna.
A source said trouble started when a fence which was being erected around the Eid praying ground in the area was pulled down.

He said: "There is a parcel of land which the Muslims use for their Eid prayers. They decided to fence it because, according to them, people come in there to defecate.
"In the process of fencing the land, the people around claimed they have exceeded the boundary and pulled down the fence.
"Last night, the Muslim youths decided to attack the Nasara Baptist Church and burn it down. In retaliation, Christian youths burnt down the mosque at Government College, Kachia and another mosque in the area.
"The situation has been brought under control and I can confirm to you that there was no death."

Another source said: "When the fence was demolished, the youths alerted the local government chairman, Peter Agaite and he promised to repair the damaged portion, but failed to do so. That was why both sides went on a damage spree."
Governor Ramalan Yero has warned that the government will not allow enemies of peace cause mayhem in the state. He directed security agencies not to spare anyone found fomenting trouble.
The governor in a statement by his Director-General, Media and Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, said the administration will no longer tolerate act of unwarranted violence against innocent citizens.
He called on the people in Kachia town and environs to remain calm and shun any attempt by enemies of peace to escalate misunderstanding in the area.
The governor called on residents to avoid taking laws in their hands as the government was working with security agencies to ensure the protection of life and property.
The statement said: "Government will not fold its arms and allow "enemies of peace" cause mayhem in our state.
"I call on all law abiding citizens to go about their businesses without fear of intimidation as security forces have been directed to deal with trouble makers."
Yero assured the people that security agencies have begun investigations into the cause of the crisis and will not spare anyone found culpable "no matter their status in the society".
"We will no longer tolerate these acts of unwarranted violence against innocent citizens; enough is enough."
The governor said the government will continue to pursue its peace building agenda and will not rest on its oars, until Kaduna is returned to its pre-crises era.
Police spokesman Aminu Lawan said the situation has been brought under control.
He said: "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."