Residents conducted themselves freely on Thursday as calm finally returns to Makurdi metropolis in Benue State after the tension which erupted two days ago occasioned by the killing of priests and several others in part of the state.
Our correspondent who went around the town reports that residents carried out their normal daily activities without any hinderances at flash areas such as Wadata, Wurukum and North Bank.
A motor mechanic, Alex Abari, who lives in Wadata, highly populated by the Hausas, said apart from the initial apprehension on Tuesday following the killing of two priests and 17 others which led to closing of the market in that suburb, nothing else went wrong.
"Everywhere in Wadata is peaceful. I’m in my shop here in Wadata, a few distance from the street where I also live and business is going on as usual," Abari said.
Similarly, a Pharmacist, in Wadata, said absolute calmness had returned to the area as markets are opened, motorists plying the route while residents had good sleep at night.
Haruna Yusuf, who trades at the Wurukum market, also corroborated calm in his vicinity.
But, his Igbo counterpart, Emeka Eze, alleged that there were slight disturbances on Wednesday night by cultists around the Timber Shade, rice mill and abattoir section of the market before police arrested those involved and took them away.
Eze, a resident of North Bank, densely populated by the Hausas added that the area had remained peaceful after the Tuesday tension which engulfed the entire Makurdi as protest over killings in the state bursted.
For Maimuna Yaro, the calm appeared dicey yet because, "we are just on the alert. It looked as if anything could still happen but we pray for peace."
Meanwhile, the Police spokesman in the state, ASP. Moses Yamu, did not respond to his telephone calls or message as at the time of filing this report.