The communal crisis that began on Thursday, October 18, at Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru LGA spread to the Kaduna metropolis on Sunday. Violence erupted at approximately 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM in Mararaban Rido and Sabon Tasha areas of the city, then spilled over to Tudun Wada, Central Market, and Ahmadu Bello Way in the city center. The violence involved the burning of tyres along major roads (including Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway and Ahmadu Bello Way), looting of shops, gunshots, arson of houses, and attacks across communal lines. A resident reported that the problem began at a church in Mararaban Rido where a man was caught recording a pastor's sermon and was arrested by police, after which violence erupted. Youths barricaded roads, stopping and searching vehicles
21 Oct 2018 · Kaduna Metropolis (Mararaban Rido, Sabon Tasha, Tudun Wada, Central Market, Ahmadu Bello Way), Kaduna North/Kaduna South, Kaduna
Deaths
23
Injured
17
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
40
Perpetrators
Hoodlums
Response
The Kaduna State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna town and its surrounding areas, effective immediately as of Sunday. Governor Nasir El-Rufai announced the curfew through his verified Twitter account. The Inspector General of Police has assigned an Assistant Inspector General to lead a Police Special Intervention Force, which includes four units of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Counter Terrorism Unit, the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), and other units. Additionally, soldiers and riot police have been deployed to major roads.
Socioeconomic drivers
Disputes over market access and trading rights involving wheelbarrow porters; allegations of cow theft. There are underlying ethno-religious tensions between the Hausa Muslim and Adara Christian communities, leading to reprisal attacks and rumors of planned assaults.
Trajectory
The violence rapidly escalated from the initial Kasuwan Magani market dispute on Thursday to the abduction of the Adara monarch on Friday, and then spread to the Kaduna metropolis on Sunday, leading to 23 additional deaths and 17 injuries. The total death toll across the entire crisis period rose to 78 confirmed killed.
Cycle notes
This incidents reflects the recurring pattern of ethno-religious violence in Northern Nigeria, particularly in Southern Kaduna, where cycles of retaliation have persisted over decades. Comparable episodes include the 18 October 2018 Kasuwan Magani market crisis in Kajuru LGA, which was part of a broader communal conflict that resulted in about 55 deaths; the widespread farmer–herder and ethno-religious clashes across Southern Kaduna between 2016 and 2017, which reportedly left over 700 people dead; the February 2000 Kaduna religious riots that claimed hundreds of lives; the May 1992 Zangon Kataf crisis; and the 2011 post-election violence in Southern Kaduna and surrounding areas, which resulted in over 500 deaths. These incidents illustrate a long-standing cycle of tit-for-tat communal violence driven by entrenched ethnic and religious fault lines across Kaduna State and other parts of Northern Nigeria.
Pattern
Communal clashes and rural attacks
Related — Communal Violence
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