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A truck conveying alcoholic drinks to the main military
barracks in Nigeria's northern city of Kano was intercepted last week and set ablaze by Muslim vigilantes, the 'Vanguard' daily reported on Monday.
The paper said news of the incident on 20 February enraged soldiers at the barracks who quickly organised to confront the militants, known as Hisba, charged with implementing the Sharia legal code. However, they were restrained on the orders of the chief of army staff, Lt-Gen Victor Malu, averting what would have been a major religious crisis, the paper reported.
The Hisba vigilante were also reported to have invaded the offices of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Kano on suspicion that alcohol was being served there, and to have smashed car windscreens and window panes.
Kano is one of 10 states in northern Nigeria that have adopted
Strict application of Islamic law, which forbids the sale and consumption of alcohol, but does not apply to the military.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions