The Catholic Church wants the Federal Government to establish a commission to investigate the on-going Christian-Muslim clashes.

At the same time the church has called for the setting up of a national forum to discuss the fragile unity of Africa's most populous nation.

Close to 200 people have died in an orgy of violence sparked a week ago by Muslim protests over offensive cartoons published in Europe.

A Catholic priest, Fr Michael Gajere, was among the dead in the northern State of Maiduguri where the clashes started on February 18.

Some 40 church buildings and several hundreds of homes and business premises belonging to Christians were destroyed, including the residence of the Catholic bishop of Maiduguri and at least six Catholic parish premises.

Dozens of Muslims were killed in reprisal attacks in the south of the country by suspected Christian youths.

"Government should immediately constitute an investigative panel acceptable to all stakeholders to investigate the causes and the authors of this tragedy: direct or indirect, immediate or remote. No murderer or arsonist should be allowed to hide behind any mask of religion, no matter how highly placed," the church said in a statement sent to CISA.

The panel should discuss the appropriate punishment for originators and perpetrators of the violence and compensation for families of dead victims and restitution for destroyed property, said the statement signed by Fr George Ehusani, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).

"For us [. .], the tragic event of February 18 and the aftermath should not be viewed in isolation from other crisis situations that have bogged our nation since 1966. Once again the quality of our corporate existence is being put to the test and our sense of national cohesion is being challenged," the bishops said.

They criticized the Government for failing to protect the the lives and properties of innocent citizens.

"What is even more disturbing to us is that nearly one week after such a tragic event that challenges the very basis of our corporate existence, with potentially destabilizing effects on our nation state, the Federal Government has not yet deemed it fit to address the nation on this tragedy."

The bishops called the reprisal killings in the south a sad commentary on the extent to which the ordinary Nigerian has lost faith in the institutions of State and in the ability or willingness of those in authority to pursue justice.

They called for a national day of mourning and the resignation or immediate suspension from office of those responsible for security in the affected States.

The bishops asked all Muslims, especially the leaders, to work with Christians to end violence perpetrated in the name of religion.