Photo: ODT fileThe government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on parts of central Nigeria, a government spokesman said on Tuesday, after clashes killed at least 14 in the region. Gunmen shot dead at least 14 villagers and destroyed property in an attack on the Kaura village of Takad in southern Kaduna state on Monday, said Enock Andong, a local community leader. As a result of violence in Kaura and the Jema'a region, the state government imposed a 24-hour curfew on the two areas, Samuel Aruwan, a spokesman for the governor of Kaduna, said in a statement. Aruwan said a curfew "became necessary to protect life and property and avoid the further breakdown of law and order". The Kaduna state government said on Monday a garrison commander from the Nigerian Army's First Division had been sent to the southern region to coordinate a response to such attacks.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 22, 2017 00:11 UTC