Several people were feared killed and many others wounded in Numan, Adamawa State yesterday following the eruption of clashes between Christian and Muslims residents.
Social and commercial activities were abruptly brought to a halt in Jimeta-Yola the state capital as speculations of a possible spill-over of the Numan crisis spread in the metropolis.
Tension enveloped the state capital as lorry-loads of critically wounded people from the Numan clash were offloaded at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola.
The atmosphere became charged as hordes of youths, popularly called "Achaba riders" (commercial motorcyclists) gathered at the main gate of the hospital, discussing the need to mobilise for a reprisal attack.
Shops and other business establishments were quickly locked up just as vehicles stopped plying roads in the metropolis for fear of possible attack.
Efforts by our correspondent to unearth the genesis of the Numan crisis proved abortive as the conveyers of the wounded refused to make any comment.
One of them who agreed to talk simply retorted, "can't you see that this is a religious attack, if you want to know all the details then you should go to Numan, but as far as we are concerned, we were only detailed to bring these people to this (FMC) hospital."
Another, however, said, "so many people have been killed in Numan today but I cannot state the figure as the whole town has become a ghost of itself with all roads empty."
All efforts to get the state police commissioner to comment on the crisis proved abortive as at the time of filing this report, but fully armed policemen were seen patrolling the streets, with substantial number of them hovering around the Federal Medical Centre.
Commenting on the situation in a telephone interview, a chieftain of Peoples Demo-cratic Party (PDP) and sports philanthropist, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, noted that it is very unfortunate that this time around when the nation is praying for peaceful co-existence amongst citizenry, some enemies of progress are bent on causing distractions and disaffection in the society.
According to him, "Adamawa has till this time been noted for its respect for peaceful co-existence but it is quite unfortunate that this time around, some enemies, especially of the Boni Haruna administration have decided to murder the existing peace. This administration has invested so much in peace and still doing so, why must well-meaning person (s) or good adherent of any religion seek to murder peace, kill or maim and even destroy property of others?"
Eze therefore, appealed to people of the state to continue to embrace peace irrespective of religious or tribal differences, and urged the law enforcement agents to bring to book all those found involved in the act of breaching the peace in the state.
The spate of ethno-religious clashes in parts of the country in recent times, has given the Federal Government serious cause for concern.Last month, President Olusegun Obasanjo had to impose a state of emergency on Plateau State and suspended the state governor Joshua Dariye as well as the state House of Assembly following the incessant blood-letting in the Southern part of the state.
The President also warned Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State over the reprisal attacks on Christians and non-indigenes by demonstrators protesting the killings in Plateau State.