Sectarian tension is rising in Bauchi State following the murder of a pastor and his wife as Christians call for revenge, residents and officials said.The couple were allegedly abducted and killed by some Muslims in Boto village in Bauchi State, they said.
The burnt bodies of the pentecostal pastor, Ishaya Kadah, and his wife, Selina, were discovered on Thursday by the police in the village, located in the predominantly Christian Tafawa Balewa district, two days after they were kidnapped, they added.
"It is quite tense here since the burnt corpses of pastor Ishaya and his wife were discovered yesterday (Thursday), with his flock calling for revenge. We don't know what is going to happen," Boto resident Bitrus Kagama said.
"The pastor and his wife were found missing and their bodies later discovered in the bush," Kagama said.
"We received a report on Tuesday that a pastor and his wife were missing and a search team discovered the bodies two days later", Bauchi State police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua told AFP on phone from the state capital, Bauchi.
"We have arrested two suspects and we are still looking for four other suspects in connection with the murder. We are on top of the situation," Yar'Adua said.
Tafawa Balewa, which has a history of Christian-Muslim violence, is on the border with Plateau State, which has been rocked by sectarian violence in the last six years that has left hundreds dead.
Boto is home to more than 100 Muslims displaced by the sectarian violence in Jos, capital of Plateau State, in January which the police said left 326 dead..
Comments