No fewer than 20, 000 persons have been killed in various violence in Kaduna State 1980s to 2016.
The state governor, Nasir El-Rufai made this known while inaugurating an International Centre for Inter-Faith Peace and Harmony, an initiative of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Christian Council of Nigeria.
He noted that Kaduna state before now used to be a home for all irrespective of religious and ethnic differences, but had over the years become a theater for religious and ethnic conflict.
“Kaduna was home to people from different religious and ethnic background, but since the beginning of the 1980s, it has witnessed 12 rounds of bloody violence that killed over 20,000 people and destroyed properties worth millions.
“Kaduna is now divided along religious lines, with the Muslims living on the northern part of the River Kaduna, while the Christians live in the southern part of the river.
“This is the state that we inherited, but the presence of this centre in the state is an indication that the people of Kaduna state would be united again,” he said.
Speaking further, El-Rufai accused some religious leaders of igniting violence for selfish reasons, adding that some had turned religion into a business.
El-Rufai, therefore, urged religious leaders, particularly those under the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN) and Jamatu Nasril Islam (JNI), to deemphasize religious differences in their teachings, to ensure religious harmony.
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