At Least 20 Persons Injured, Homes Of Two Pastors Burnt

A senior police officer has confirmed that over 20 persons were injured and homes of two pastors burnt during a clash between members of the Assemblies of God Church in Kaduna State on Sunday morning.

The clash according to the officer occurred in Saminaka in Lere local government area of the state.

The source said the fracas was between two factions of the church leadership in the Saminaka District loyal to the two factions of the Church at the national level. The two pastors in the area whose supporters clashed are Rev. Jimoh Simon and Rev. Haruna Tutu.

The police officer also said that the Church was closed down last year due to fractionalization among priests loyal to different leaderships at their headquarters in the Eastern part of Nigeria.

"This Sunday one of the factions forced their way into the Church, and the other factions came. They clashed and injured some people. In the course of the fracas, two houses belonging to pastors were set ablaze.

“What saved the situation was the timely arrival of our men if not it would have been bloody and worst. Security operatives are presently watching over Church and trailing those responsible for this unfortunate incident.”, said the police officer who did not want to be named.

All efforts to reach Samuel Aruwan, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai’s spokesperson for update and security measures taken by the government were not successful as he was said to be traveling internationally as at the time of this report.