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Katsina Children Take To The Street, Protest Over Abductions, Killings

Published

10 months ago

Mar 9, 2024.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that in the wake of three days of uninterrupted attacks by bandits on numerous villages in Katsina State, hundreds of children found themselves wandering the streets unsupervised last week.

Nigerians have expressed their discontent with the children’s protests, viewing them as an indictment of the nation’s security framework and accusing the government of negligence that led to such a critical point where young people feel compelled to demonstrate.

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Recall that bandits carried out several attacks across various Katsina villages last week, notably targeting the Wurma community for three consecutive days, in the absence of any intervention by security forces.

In response to the savage killing of their parents, the children, filled with indignation, flooded the streets, clutching sticks and chanting, to voice their discontent with what they viewed as the government and security officials’ lack of concern for their security and welfare.

This online media platform reports that children between the ages of 10 and 15 were the main participants in the Wurma protest.

The extensive farming community of Wurma was left deserted following three consecutive days of attacks, with no intervention from security personnel.

Katsina

A viral video of the demonstration shows the children voiced their protests against their parents’ deaths by bandits over three successive days in Katsina.

A protester in the video, Jamil Mabai, explained that Wurma had become a desolate ghost village after its residents had departed for neighbouring towns.

He said: “Wurma village, a big farming community, is completely deserted; security personnel are nowhere to be found. Our parents are being slaughtered like animals.

“We are helpless and that is why we are crying out to the whole world to come to our rescue. The government has abandoned us.”

The protest has sparked reactions among Nigerians, some of whom argue that the children involved were just trying to highlight their community’s problems on an international stage, due to perceived governmental neglect.

On the other hand, there are those who look past the children’s objectives for the protest, worrying about how such actions might psychologically affect them in the long run as they transition into adult life.

While Vice President Kashim Shettima promised that security would be strengthened, Nigerians widely believe that his assurances are merely political talk, echoing a well-worn narrative.