Four days of sporadic fighting between natives and Hausa-Fulani settlers has set the alarm bells ringing and forced local authorities to impose a 24-hour curfew on Kafanchan, the famous railway town located in Kaduna, North-West Nigeria.

Trouble started following the killing of a young man (a native) by suspected Hausa-Fulani assailants on Monday night, leading to reprisal attacks by angry indigenous youths. The clashes escalated on Thursday amid rumours of the imminent outbreak of a full-scale war, forcing the Jema’a Local Government Council to announce the imposition of a comprehensive curfew on the city on Thursday night.

Reacting yesterday, the state governor, Dr. Mukthar Ramalan Yero, commiserated with victims of the crisis and appealed for calm. The governor in a statement signed by his spokesman, Mallam Ahmed Maiyaki, appealed to Kafanchan residents to embrace peace and dialogue rather than resorting to war.

“As a responsible government, we shall not shirk our constitutional duty of protecting the lives and property of the entire people of Kaduna State, no matter what it will take,” Yero said,

Disclosing that “government, with the support of security agencies, has already brought the situation in Kafanchan under control.”

•Photo shows Governor Yero of Kaduna State.