At least seven people were reportedly killed and 17 others injured over the weekend as clashes erupted between rival groups in Nigeria’s northeastern Taraba state after a controversial court ruling to remove the state governor from office and instate his rival to the post.

“Following the ruling on Saturday, supporters of governor Darius Ishaku and those of his [All Progressive Congress] opponent Hajia Jummai Al-Hassan unleashed violence on one another in Wukari and in the process seven persons died, all men,” Nyajon Audu, a local journalist from Wukari, told Anadolu Agency on Monday afternoon.

A Taraba police spokesman confirmed the violence in Wukari but he stopped short of confirming any death in clashes between supporters of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Audu said the violence later assumed a religious dimension.

“This is partly as a result of existing feuds in the community between the Muslims and the Christians. While PDP is supported by majority of Christians, the APC draws its support mainly from the Muslims, so this instantly gave the crisis a religious coloration even though the basis for current clash is purely political,” he said.

“I need to check with the local police post to confirm if anyone died but what I can say now is that there was serious tension and violence in the town. Security agents were drafted in and they have restored peace at the moment,” police spokesman Joseph Kwaji told Anadolu Agency.

Kawu David, a resident of Wukari, told Anadolu Agency that at least 21 houses were burnt in the violence that started late Saturday and festered till Sunday afternoon.

“Although calm has returned at the moment, many people have already fled Wukari for fear of being killed in the violence,” he added.

The ruling APC and the PDP have been exchanging words on the ruling which the latter claimed had been influenced by the ruling party politicians.

The tribunal said the ousted governor was not duly nominated by the PDP in accordance with the law, implying that the then ruling PDP never had a candidate in the poll. The court then went ahead to declare his opponent Al-Hassan, now a minister-designate in the Muhammadu Buhari government, winner of the election.

The ruling has raised discussions within the legal community, with some lawyers claiming the tribunal lacks the power to delve into pre-election matters such as the nomination of candidates and that, even where it is done, the court ought to call for a new election outright. The ruling is subject to appeal at the supreme court.

If the ruling of the tribunal is confirmed by the higher courts, Al-Hassan will be the first woman to have been elected governor in Nigeria’s history. Buhari himself is the first opposition candidate to have been elected president in the country’s political history.

Taraba, like central Nigeria Plateau and Nasarawa state, is a boiling point for ethno-religious crisis because of its mixed populations of Muslims and Christians who belong to different tribes and jostle for political and economic control.

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Ousting of Taraba Governor – Seven dead in clashes between APC and PDP supporters