President Muhammadu Buhari, Tuesday morning, flew into Kaduna in an apparent move to to douse the conflagration in the state.
Kaduna State has been a hotbed of crisis since October 18 when violent clashes reportedly claimed many lives in Kasuwan Magani in the Kajuru Local Government Area. Although the state government imposed a 24-hour curfew, the killings never abated neither did it prevent the murder of Dr Maiwada Galadima, the traditional ruler of Kachia, who was kidnapped with his wife.
Before the current crisis, there had been a similar bloodshed earlier in the year when scores of people were massacred, on May 5, 2018, in Gwaska village. The May 5 massacre prompted the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, to express concern over persisting violence in parts of Nigeria, urging all stakeholders to work together to bring peace and stability to the country.
Buhari’s visit to Kaduna is part of the federal government’s efforts to fashion an enduring solution to the perennial killings in the state.
During the visit, the President will meet with religious and traditional leaders as well as other stakeholders.
In the time being, a roving editor of The Crest, Muyiwa Layinka, reported that protesting members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, Tuesday morning, besieged the Transcorp Hilton axis and Unity Fountain, to continue their agitation over their detained leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky.
There were reports, on Monday, that at least three people were killed when supporters of the detained Shiite cleric clashed with security forces during their protest march in the nation’s capital.
The Nigerian Army confirmed the fatalities, adding that a score of soldiers also suffered varying degrees of injuries.
The AFP quoted a press statement by the military, Monday night, stating that troops and police “repelled the attack” by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, who also “fired weapons”, threw stones and Molotov cocktails.
“Unfortunately during the encounter, three members of the sect were killed while four soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries,” the army said in the statement.
Six members the IMN sect have been killed in demonstrations since Saturday amid concerns about further crackdowns on the group.
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