At least two Christians were killed and nine churches vandalised when up to a thousand Muslims went on a five hour rampage in south western Nigeria.

The protest on November 28 in Osogbo was against the imminent visit of German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke.

Osogbo is the capital of Osun, a state dominated by the Yoruba, a tribe evenly divided along religious lines and with a long tradition of religious tolerance.

One of the dead men, a pastor's son, had been spotted by Muslim youths putting up posters advertising the Bonnke event on the previous day.

According to eyewitnesses, he was targeted by Muslim assailants who forced their way into the family home, strangled him, and then dragged his corpse a kilometre away from his house.

The crowd also stormed All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Isale-Aro, but the minister and his family managed to escape the attackers.

The riot was said to have been incited by the Tafsir (the daily Ramadan sermon) of a radical preacher named Alfa Adegbite. Members of Tobliq, an Islamic group from a neighbouring state, were reported to have come to Osogbo specifically for the riot.

Traditional and religious leaders have condemned events in Osogbo. Oba Iyiola Matanmi, the Ataoja of Osogba (King of the Osogbo people), visited the affected area and issued a plea for calm. In an encouraging development which can be attributed to the local tradition of religious tolerance, Alhaji Mustapha Ajisafe, the chairman of the league of Imams and Alfas, disassociated the organisation from the incident.

After visiting the vandalised churches the governor of Osun state, Bisi Akande, a Muslim, praised the Christian community for exercising restraint. The governor gave assurances that those responsible for the violence would be brought to justice.

Sheikh Ajisafe, the chief Imam of Osogboland joined the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Bishop Leke Abegunrin, and the local Commissioner of Police in an appeal for calm.

Local police have moved swiftly to arrest Alhaji Adegbite and have also promised to upgrade security during the Bonnke rally.

Rev Bonnke has held several meetings throughout Nigeria that have been attended by vast numbers of people of all faiths.

Muslims in Osogbo may have been alarmed by the success of a recent series of five meetings from November 7-11 in the neighbouring town of Ibadan.

Muslim militants in the town marched in protest against both Rev Bonnke's visit and the US-led military action in Afghanistan. Despite this, Muslim Governor Lam Adesina welcomed the evangelist and requested prayer for the peace and prosperity of Ibadan.

Local authorities were stunned when a crowd of 1.3 million gathered for the largest of the five evening meetings held at the Old Airport site. In all more than four million people heard him speak.

Rev Bonnke is no stranger to controversy and violent reaction as ten years ago hundreds of people died when Muslims protested against his presence in the predominantly Muslim town of Kano. The evangelist was also forced to cancel a rally in Khartoum in Sudan over Easter, after local authorities withdrew permission for the use of a venue and attempted to relocate the event to an area owned by Muslim militants.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "We continue to appeal for peace in Nigeria, a country which has seen hundreds of Christians and Muslims die in inter-religious conflict.

"We are extremely grateful for the dialogue which has taken place between the two communities and call on the authorities to ensure the remaining visits of Rev Bonnke are peaceful."