Violence Stirs Fear in Northern Nigeria

Violence gripped northern Nigeria on Monday, with the biggest city, Kano, still troubled after four days of Muslim-Christian fighting and reports that 16 soldiers had been killed in unrelated bloodshed elsewhere.

Police said tension was high in Benue and Taraba states after the discovery of the soldiers’ bodies. They had been abducted by ethnic Tiv militiamen last week as ethnic clashes between the Tiv and Jukun peoples escalated.

Separately, troops battled rioters in Kano four days after violence broke out during Muslim protests against U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan. Police say 18 people have been killed in Kano, but community leaders have put the figure at more than 200.

Police spokesman Emmanuel Deebom said the 16 soldiers were killed in Benue state on Thursday. “Their bodies were recovered Friday, and we are investigating the matter,” he said.

The soldiers had been among 24 people abducted by the Tiv, who have been locked in clashes with the neighboring Jukun. The Tiv are in the majority in Benue but also form a significant minority in Taraba, where the Jukun are dominant.

In Kano, residents said police, who have been under orders since Saturday to shoot rioters on sight, fired at a young man as they dispersed a crowd they believed was planning attacks in the teeming district of Tudun Wada.

“Police killed one of the nasty boys causing problems in our area,” said resident Esther Isaac, 24, who said she had witnessed the incident.

Fear of revenge killings has swept the ancient city.

Kano Gov. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso met community and religious leaders in the presence of police and army commanders, amid reports that warring parties were regrouping.

Participants said the meeting agreed on bolstering military and police patrols to allow free movement of people.

But some community leaders emerged from the talks calling on their people to defend themselves.

“My community should start to take the law into their own hands, stay in their homes and defend themselves if they are attacked,” ethnic Ibo leader Boniface Ibekwe said.

Kano residents spent a fourth day huddled in their homes, with reports of food running short. Shops and city markets have been shut since Friday. There has been no electricity or water in many working class districts for four days.