55 dead after market row in northern Nigeria

ABUJA: Fifty- five people were killed this week in clashes between young Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria following a dispute in a market, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday.

Sources told AFP fighting broke out between Hausa Muslim and Adara Christian youths in the town of Kasuwan Magani’s market following a dispute among wheelbarrow porters.

Two people were said to have been killed in the market fracas on Thursday. The violence was temporarily halted by police but Adara youth later mobilised and attacked Hausa residents, burning homes, the sources added.

“Most of the killings were done in the second attack which took the Hausa community off guard,” said Muhammadu Bala, a Kasuwar Magani resident who lost his home.

In a statement the presidency said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest communal violence in Kasuwan Magani in Kaduna State which claimed 55 lives.”

The violence followed a dispute in a market on Thursday, the presidency added.

The president expressed concern that Nigerians were too frequently resorting to violence over misunderstandings that could be resolved peacefully. — AFP