The Catholic Diocese of Sokoto said no one was killed or injured by protesters during Saturday’s attack on the Holy Family Cathedral, Sokoto.
A statement signed by Sokoto Catholic Diocese Communications Director Christopher Omotosho said the protesters, however, vandalized parts of the cathedral and another church in the city.
The statement says church guards repelled the protesters before they did any more damage.
The young rioters were protesting the arrest of two men in connection with the lynching of a Christian student, Deborah Samuelfor alleged blasphemy.
To contain the protests, the Sokoto state government declared a 24-hour curfew in the state on Saturday.
Omotosho said angry youths, “led by some adults in the background,” attacked the Holy Family Catholic Cathedral. He said they smashed the glass windows of the church, those of Bishop Lawton’s Secretariat and vandalized a community bus parked inside the facility.
“They were quickly dispersed by a mobile police team before they could do any more damage.
“The thugs also attacked the Bakhita Center located along Aliyu Jodi road and burned a bus inside the premises. They burned down St. Kevin’s Catholic Church in Sokoto.”
The statement says that Diocese Bishop Mathew Kukah praised security forces for rising to the occasion to prevent further damage to our facilities.
Mr. Kukah called on Christians to continue to respect the law and pray for a return to normality.
He declared the suspension of all masses in the metropolis until the government lifts the curfew.