An unidentified Islamic leader in the custody of Nigerian authorities might have died. The nation’s capital, Abuja, was tense for the most part of yesterday, while military armoured tanks and heavily armed policemen patrolled the streets of Kaduna in a show of force.

The Guardian reliably learnt the cleric might have passed away yesterday, with the authorities hurriedly putting security measures in place to forestall violence by his supporters and persons sympathetic to his cause.

A meeting of a paramilitary body in Kaduna, yesterday, was swiftly concluded with members warned to stay indoors and not travel back to their states for fear of a possible backlash following the rumoured death.Followers of the embattled cleric have for months called for his release. The authorities, however, appeared to have had other reasons for holding him, despite court orders granting him bail

THE GUARDIAN