Nigerian Catholics in this mainly-Muslim northern city were deeply moved by Pope John Paul II's funeral on Friday, but outraged that a power-cut prevented them for seeing the end of the ceremony.
"The funeral is the most historic event I have ever witnessed," said 35-year-old Jacob Adeola, a Christian small businessman who runs a printing press in a city with a reputation for religious division and violent unrest.
"The presence of some Arab and Muslim leaders at the funeral shows that the pope was a man of peace who did his best to build bridges of brotherhood and understanding between Christians and other religions," he said.
But Adeola and his friends were horrified when television coverage of the event was cut short when his electricity supply, provided by the Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA), was halted towards the end of the broadcast.
"NEPA took off the light before the end of the funeral. I don't think I can forgive NEPA for this depravity," Adeola said.
Nigeria's erratic power supply has long angered its citizens, who have dubbed NEPA "Never Expect Power Anytime". The state-run monopoly produces only 4,000 megawatts at peak output, and is currently limited to less than 2,000.
By comparison, South Africa produces around four times as much power to serve the equivalent of a third of Nigeria's population.
But despite the problems of their daily lives, the Christian minority living far from Rome in this dusty commercial city on the southern edge of the Sahel semi-desert were deeply touched by the ceremonies.
"Although I watched it from here on television, I felt as if I was at the funeral live because it was so touching that I could not hold back my tears," said Thomas Chukwuma, a 45-year-old motor parts dealer.
"I watched the funeral from my parlour but God knows my spirit was in Rome. I believe it is the first and the last time I can witness such a funeral, nobody among the world leaders can bring together such a number of people."