Up to a hundred people may have died in the violence that rocked parts of northern Nigeria on 18 February following the publication in Europe of cartoons satirising the prophet Mohammed.

Sources in northern Nigeria report that at least 30 churches and 250 shops and houses were destroyed in Borno State, when a peaceful protest in the capital city Maiduguri turned violent and a crowd armed with sticks, machetes and iron bars rampaged through the town destroying Christian properties and targeting members of the clergy.

Father Gajere, priest of St. Rita's Catholic Church was burned to death in his home along with his domestic staff, and the residence of the Catholic Bishop of Maiduguri diocese was torched. In one incident a husband and wife in Gamboro lost their six children and all of their belongings when their house was torched, and in another a mob placed a tyre around one man, doused him with petrol and set him on fire. Eyewitnesses report that corpses were piling up in hospitals in Maiduguri due to a lack of sufficient burial sites for casualties of the violence.

The Borno police force reported that it had arrested 115 people. However, the violence only abated when the Nigerian army was sent to the area to assist the police in peace keeping, following desperate appeals by local Christians for an evacuation and a curfew.

On the same day sources in Katsina State reported attacks on the Christian and Igbo properties in the capital city. Although a curfew was quickly put in place, reports indicate a death toll of at least seven, although the local police force insisted that one rioter had died, two police officers were injured and 25 people arrested during the violence. Religious tension was also reported to be growing in Kano and Niger States.

Tension also escalated in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, in the lead up to the violence in Maiduguri with an increase in armed robbery and a particularly violent attack on a prominent Christian family. In Wase, southern Plateau state. Muslim students stabbed the driver of a car and critically injured a pregnant woman and seven others after a road incident

At least 50,000 people have died in religious violence in northern and central Nigerian since 2000, when a number of northern states began to adopt the Shari'ah penal code, creating a de-facto state religion in violation of Nigeria's secular constitution.

Borno state has recently seen an increase in Muslim militancy as the Al Sunna Wal Jamma or 'Taliban' group has begun to target Christian settlements and government installations, retreating into neighboring countries when challenged by the Nigerian security forces.

The Most Reverend Peter J Akinola, Primate of all Nigeria and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, has said, "That an incident in far away Denmark which does not claim to be representing Christianity could elicit such an unfortunate reaction here in Nigeria, leading to the destruction of Christian Churches, is not only embarrassing, but also disturbing and unfortunate."

CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas added, "A strong and consistent response is needed by the Government of Nigeria to restore order and bring an end to this alarming escalation of violence. We urge the federal government to ensure that victims receive adequate compensation and damaged or destroyed properties are rebuilt as a matter of urgency."