Youths vandalise churches in Kwara State capital

Several days after eight churches were vandalised in the south-western Nigerian state of Osun, youths in Ilorin, the capital of central Kwara state, on Friday vandalised four churches, Nigerian press reported. The youths, suspected to be Muslims, did not however disrupt a Christian prayer meeting held since Friday under tight security in the town by American preacher K.A. Paul. Police in Ilorin, the newspapers said, swiftly moved in to prevent violence while Muslim leaders called for restraint. The Guardian newspaper quoted the chief Imam of Ilorin, Alhaji Mohammed Bashir as saying "Muslim faithfuls in the town should embrace peace in accordance with the spirit of Ramadan and the tenet of the religion". Meanwhile, tension remained high in the south-western town of Osogbo in Osun state days prior to a planned prayer meeting by German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. State governor Bisi Akande, was quoted by the Panafrican News Agency as saying on Saturday that the government had taken necessary measures to ensure the successful holding of the meeting, scheduled for 5-9 December. Protests against Bonnke's planned prayer meeting was the reason the eight churches were vandalised last Wednesday, Nigerian press reported on Friday.