Tragedy struck Billiri town in Gombe State, North East Nigeria, when a trailer load of goods on Easter Monday rammed into a procession of youths celebrating the festival killing five, while several others were injured.
Reports say the incident forced enraged youths to block the Gombe-Yola highway for over an hour.
The mob also set the trailer on fire and attacked the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) present at the scene
It took the efforts of the military and Police to disperse the ravaging mob.
The Gombe State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Samson Kaura, who spoke on the incident said five persons lost their lives, while 13 others sustained various degree of injuries.
The acting Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the Local Government Area, Rev Ezra Idi, organisers of the procession said the five corpses have been deposited at the mortuary.
He explained that there was an atmosphere of uncertainties following the arrest of some protesting youths by the Police, adding that the leadership of CAN was about meeting to analyse the incident before making further comments.
However, a statement made available to newsmen by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gombe State Police Command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, states: “In the aftermath of the incident, some aggrieved youths in the area set the vehicle ablaze and subsequently marched to the Billiri Divisional Police Headquarters.
“In an attempt to express their anger, the youths began to throw stones and other dangerous objects at the officers on duty. The Divisional Police Officer and several other police personnel sustained varying degrees of injuries during the unrest,” the statement revealed.
The statement said the command condemned what it calls the act of lawlessness and appealed to residents to remain calm and allow the law to take its course.
According to the statement, investigations are ongoing to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the incident as well as the number of arrests made.
While commiserating with the families of the deceased and prays for the quick recovery of the injured, the Police Command in the statement, assured the public that adequate security measures have been put in place in the area to forestall any further breakdown of law and order.
