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KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria has deployed a special police force to restore calm in the state of Kaduna, in the north of the country, following the violence in the area that claimed people, announced Sunday President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Kaduna state government imposed Sunday a 24-hour curfew after the violence began on the streets of the capital, Kaduna.
The violence in the state capital is the result of clashes between two communities in the Kasuwan Magani area in southern Kaduna, killing 55 people.
Residents said clashes erupted between Muslims and Christians in the region, about 50 km from Kaduna town on Thursday.
Hundreds of people were killed this year in outbreaks of violence in Nigeria. Security has become a key campaign issue for the February 2019 elections, during which Buhari will seek a second term.
"The violence in Kaduna … is reprehensible. The police were allowed to do their utmost to restore calm. A special intervention force has been deployed in the affected areas, "Buhari said on Twitter.
Kaduna State Police Commissioner Ahmad Abdur-Rahman said earlier that clashes in the Kasuwan Magani area in southern Kaduna had led to 22 arrests.
"The federal government and its security forces will work with the state government and community leaders to ensure the full restoration of peace and security," Buhari said in another message posted on Twitter.
Police announced that the Special Force would conduct stop and search patrols, raids on alleged hideouts and arrests in critical areas or at risk of violence.
The local population, who described the unrest in Christian and Muslim neighborhoods in the capital, said troops were also seen in the streets of the city.
"It is a 24-hour curfew notice imposed on the city of Kaduna and its environs, with immediate effect." Residents are urged to comply with this directive, "Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai said on Twitter.
Ethnic clashes have raged in southern Kaduna in recent years. Last year, additional troops and police were deployed in the state in response to an outbreak of violence.
Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa, with about 190 million inhabitants, divided roughly equally between Christians and Muslims, and comprising about 250 different ethnic groups, most of whom live in peace and peace.
Additional reports and writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; additional reports by Felix Onuah in Abuja and Nneka Chile in Lagos; Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky and Adrian Croft
