Nigerian authorities scale back curfew in violence-hit Kaduna

Authorities in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna have relaxed a round-the-clock curfew that was imposed because of deadly sectarian violence between Muslim and Christian mobs.

The reduction by 11 hours now allows residents outside from dawn to dusk, said Kaduna state governor’s spokesman Samuel Aruwan late Wednesday.

“Residents are now free to pursue their legitimate businesses from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm… until further notice,” he added.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai imposed the 24-hour curfew on Sunday after at least 55 people were killed in clashes in the town of Kasuwan Magani.

On Tuesday he gave residents a four-hour window to leave their homes and restock food supplies following complaints that people had run out of basic necessities, including water and food.

On Thursday, residents reported banks, schools, offices and businesses reopened while armed soldiers and policemen patrolled the streets of notorious flashpoints.

Communal violence erupted after fighting broke out between Hausa Muslim and Adara Christian youths in Kasuwan Magani’s market following a dispute among wheelbarrow porters.

Two people were said to have been killed in the initial fracas but the violence then dramatically escalated when Adara youths attacked Hausa residents, burning homes and killing dozens.

The violence spread to Kaduna city on Sunday.

Kaduna state lies in the flashpoint Middle Belt of Nigeria, where the mainly Muslim north meets the largely Christian south, and has seen previous bouts of bloody sectarian violence.