By John Shiklam in Kaduna
The Kaduna state government on Wednesday relaxed the 24 hour curfew imposed on Sunday on Kaduna Metropolis following outbreak of violence which claimed 22 lives.
A statement issued Wednesday evening by Samuel Aruwan, Media Aide to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, said as from Thursday, residents can move about freely to pursue their legitimate businesses from 6:00am to 5:00pm
The statement however said a dusk to dawn curfew will commence from 5:00pm to 6:00am daily until further notice and will be duly enforced.
The curfew had impacted negatively on residents and their businesses, having been restricted to their homes in the past three days.
The statement explained that the curfew hours were reviewed at a meeting of a select committee of the State Security Council which held at the Government House, Kaduna on Wednesday.
“The heads of the security agencies reported significant progress in restoring calm and commended residents for the peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves during the four-hour relaxation of the curfew in parts of Kaduna yesterday (on Tuesday).
“The government is grateful to our citizens for their cooperation while withstanding the unintended inconvenience.
“Government expects normal banking and other services to resume and markets to open as normal as from tomorrow (Thursday)” the statement said.
It said further that security agencies will remain vigilant and continue to protect residents, stressing that “intensive surveillance of known pockets of potential trouble is also continuing, by troops on the ground and by helicopter patrols.”
The statement called on residents to scrupulously observe the night-time curfew hours, keep the peace and to cooperate with the security agencies to keep the state safe.
It urged community leaders to ensure that hoodlums and other potential threats to peace were promptly reported to security agencies.
The statement also called on residents to report any suspicious activity to security agencies and to refrain from spreading rumours and unverified information.
It warned that givernment will not hesitate to reimpose a 24-hour curfew in the event of any breach of the peace.
