Soldiers in Nigeria opened fire on students in the city of Jos on Saturday amidst a fresh round of trouble in which churches and mosques were set alight.
A hospital official said 24 people have been admitted with bullet wounds and one person had died.
But the commander of a military task force says only four students were shot and wounded when his soldiers opened fire in self-defence.
There were also unconfirmed reports of killings related to clashes between Christian and Muslim groups.
Two fuel stations, a vegetable market, churches, mosques and houses were set alight. Thick smoke covered the area.
"People took advantage of the situation ... to burn houses and vehicles. They just burnt houses of the opposite faith - churches and mosques included," said Brigadier General Hassan Umaru.
Jos is the capital of Plateau state, where elections are due to be held in April.
There was a series of bombings in the city on 24 December, in which 32 people were killed and 74 wounded.
