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Curfew after third Nigerian riot
By Agencies ( Tuesday, February 21, 2006)
A curfew has been imposed in the city of Bauchi in northern Nigerian after 10 people were killed in a sectarian riot.
It began as an argument between a teacher and a pupil over the confiscation of a Koran in school.
But rumours swept the town that the book had been desecrated and that was the cue for youths, some armed with machetes, to rampage through the city.
The violence comes just two days after protests against Danish cartoons in two northern cities left at least 25 dead.
Reports say two churches were burnt in Bauchi before police fired tear gas and live rounds to disperse the crowd.
It seems the riot was not directly related to the violence over the weekend in the two northern towns of Maiduguri and Katsina, which began as demonstrations against the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
But clearly, Nigeria is going through a period of civil disturbance, with riots in the north and militant activity in the southern Niger Delta.
There is speculation that the instability is linked to the question of whether the Nigerian president will try to change the constitution and stand for a third term.
Public hearings on constitutional reform are due to begin on Wednesday.
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