Police stoned near churches

Policemen were stoned this week while protecting churches in Ilorin, capital of the central Nigerian state of Kwara, following the destruction of 14 churches there on Saturday and Sunday, news reports said. Kwara State Police Commissioner Antony Sawyer said some 3,000 youths, believed to be Muslims, were involved in the weekend attacks and that some had been arrested. They were being interviewed to ascertain the motive for their actions, he said. The `Vanguard' newspaper reported that the vicar of the United Missionary Church of Africa (UMCA) in the Ilorin neighbourhood of Amilegbe, the Rev. Samuel Ekundayo, had been injured in one of the attacks and was on the danger list in a private hospital. A prominent Islamic cleric, Alhaji Ali Agan, told `The Guardian' newspaper that the attacks were "a thing that no faithful Muslim will associate himself with".