Some angry residents of Zamfara state on Saturday stormed the Aso Rock Presidential Villa gate to protest the endless killings of their brothers and sisters by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
The protesters took to the streets of Abuja after which they marched to the entrance of the Presidential Villa to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to put an end to the killing of innocent people in the state.
The protesters who were seen carrying placards with the inscription “Enough is Enough!” had at the entrance of the Presidential Villa said all they want is for President Buhari to “stop the killings”.
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They decried the alleged incompetence of the Buhari administration to curb the worsening security situation in Zamfara, adding that despite their predicaments in the hands of the insurgents, they chose to re-elect the President in the March 23 presidential election.
One of the protesters who spoke on behalf of others could be seen in a videotape berating President Buhari for allegedly unleashing the Villa security on them instead of addressing them on the killings.
See Video:
“Baba (President Buhari) if we were to be your children what would you do? Baba don’t forget that despite the predicament we are in we came out to vote you in the election,” said the leader of the protesters who spoke in Hausa language.
“Now we came here to protest [against Boko Haram killings] and your security officials beat and pushed us. We have the videos.
“Baba look at the soldiers unleashed on us, they are all prepared with their guns to shoot us. But we came prepared, even if they are going to kill us or take our lives, you must address us on the killings of our loved ones,” she said.
The protest came against the backdrop of a reported attack on a community in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara on Friday which was said to have left several people killed.
Meanwhile, President Buhari, who is currently in Jordan for the ongoing World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa, has reacted to the killings and outrage.
The President condoled with all those affected by the attacks and described himself as “one of the unhappiest leaders in the world.”
Buhari said, “How can I be happy and indifferent to the senseless killings of my fellow citizens by bandits? I am human and I understand the pains of the victims and their families who have been traumatized and impoverished by constant ransom demands by bandits.
“The politicisation of tragedy reveals the darkest sides of our primitive politics. Almost every week, I summon my security chiefs to get an update on the strategies being devised to defeat these mass murderers.
“There is no issue that dominates my mind every 24 hours like security because, as an elected President, protecting the citizens of my country is one of the primary functions of my administration.
“I constantly listen to our security personnel in order to understand their problems and needs, and I have never hesitated to attend to those needs in terms of motivating and equipping them to respond effectively to our security challenges.
“It is therefore ridiculous to suggest that I am indifferent to these killings. I have ordered rapid and robust deployment of troops to all the areas currently under attack from bandits and we are determined to tackle this challenge ferociously until these remorseless killers are crushed and utterly defeated,” said the President.