Dozens killed as religious riots grip Nigeria

At LEAST 52 people were killed in religious rioting sparked by three suicide bombings against churches in northern Nigeria on Sunday, where the dead were yesterday piled up in mortuaries and cemeteries in the city of Kaduna.

Nineteen people died in the attack on three churches.

In the aftermath, Christian youths set up roadblocks and dragged Muslims from cars or motorbikes and killed them, witnesses said.

Although there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the church bombings, Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging an insurgency in the north east against president Goodluck Jonathan’s government, had claimed deadly church attacks on the previous two Sundays, as well as others.

Corpses littered the ground in parts of the city. They were piled one on top of the other in an old cemetery, some charred.

A soldier guarding the site said there were 30 or more bodies of those killed that site.

They had been dragged to the secluded cemetery, in a majority Christian neighbourhood, by the mobs. “Some people were killed and dumped down wells. We’ve had violence before, but this is the worst I’ve seen,” he said.

A 24-hour curfew imposed by the Kaduna state government on Sunday largely succeeded in restoring order, residents said.

In the St Gerald Hospital, spokesman Sunday Aliyu confirmed that there were 40 dead bodies in the hospital morgue and 72 people being treated for burns and other wounds.

Mohammed Inuwa said he hid in a bush when Christians pulled Muslim motorcyclists from their vehicles and beat them to death.

“They were mostly killing okada riders [motorbike taxis]. If they saw me, that would be it,” the clothes merchant said, estimating 15 people were killed by the place he was hiding.