Angry youths burn down divisional police station in Niger State as protest over slain priest turns ugly

ANGRY women and youths in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State have burnt down the Kafin-Koro divisional police station in response to the recent burning to death of a Catholic priest in the area.

According to one resident of Kafin-Koro, who identified himself simply as Jonathan, the incident began when some women gathered to pray for the soul of the slain clergyman. They had come from the  Evangelical Church Winning All and Catholic women groups, converging on the premises of the burnt Parish to offer prayers against those who burnt the Catholic priest.

Jonathan said: “As the women were praying, some policemen arrived at the venue saying they were a detachment from the Kafin-Koro Police Division drafted to the church to provide protection for them. The women rejected the protection and requested that the police should leave because the police didn’t provide protection for the dead priest neither did they show up on time when they were called,”

He added that when the police refused to leave the residence of the late priest, the women threw stones and water at them. Then the village youths eventually joined the women to protest but the police started shooting and a villager got killed by a bullet fired by the policemen.

Jonathan added: “After the prayers, the women were joined by some youths to match peacefully through the major road of the town to the police division chanting anti-police slogans to register their grievances as they asked the police to leave the town since their presence is of no security value to the community. As the police were trying to disperse the crowd, the police began shooting into the air and one of the bullets hit a man who died immediately so that was how the protest turned violent.”

In response, the irate youths set the police division office on fire. All this started last Sunday after armed bandits invaded the Kafin-Koro community around 1 am and shot sporadically while heading for the uphill residence of the Catholic priest Reverend Father Isaac Achi of Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Kaffi-Koro.

Wasiu Abiodun, the spokesman for the Niger State Police Command, said: “On 17/01/2023 at about 0900hrs, some angry youths of Kafin-Koro District, Paikoro Local Government Area mobilised and protested in Kafin-Koro town over the killing of the parish Reverend Father Isaac Achi. During the protest, the rampaging youths attacked and set the Kafin-Koro Divisional headquarters ablaze.”

"On Sunday, the bandits reportedly attempted to gain entrance into the residence but it seemed difficult and they set the house ablaze, while the said reverend father was burnt dead. A colleague of the reverend father identified as Father Collins was equally shot in the shoulder while trying to escape from the scene and the lifeless body of Father Isaac was recovered while Father Collins was rushed to the hospital for treatment.”