Kafin-koro Police Divisional office in Niger State burned by irate residents
On Tuesday morning, the Kafin-koro Police Divisional office was burned by irate ladies and teenagers in Niger State’s Paikoro local government area.
Three days prior, terrorists who broke into the parish’s residence and set fire to Reverend Father Isaac Achi, the parish priest of St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin-koro, were responsible for the event.
Trouble started when some Catholic women’s groups and members of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) gathered on the grounds of the burned-out parish at dawn on Tuesday to pray for those responsible for the brutal murder of Rev. Achi.
However, a police unit from the Kafin-koro Police Division was dispatched to the church, claiming their mandate was to safeguard the praying members.
The women rejected and opposed the police’s offer of protection, still upset at the police’s failure to arrive in time to stop the killing of the Father.
According to reports, the women begged the operatives to leave after accusing the police of doing little to save the deceased Reverend Father.
In order to make their point, the women attacked the police with stones and sachet water, causing the officers to withdraw to their station.
Following the prayers, some young people joined the women in a peaceful march along the town’s main thoroughfares to the Police Division, chanting anti-police chants to express their dissatisfaction.
They requested that the police leave the area, claiming that their presence was unnecessary for the community’s security.
The protest turned violent when the police opened fire on the crowd to disperse it. One of the bullets is alleged to have struck a middle-aged man, who passed away instantly.
During the protest, several unidentified individuals lit the Police Division on fire, which caused the entire structure to burn down.
Some unnamed protestors are alleged to have set the entire police station on fire during the ensuing altercation with the police.
The State Government and the Niger Police Command are being contacted for their opinions.
