There were palpable fears across the Sabon Birni local government area of Sokoto State on Thursday as youths from Gatawa community protested the gruesome killing of their traditional ruler, Isa Muhammad Bawa, by suspected bandits.
The district head was reportedly killed before the ransom demanded by the bandits could be delivered on Wednesday.
The lawmaker representing Sabon Birni North local government in the State House of Assembly, Aminu Boza, confirmed the news of his death on Wednesday evening.
Shortly after a funeral prayer was held in his honor in Gatawa town on Thursday, some youths in the community began a protest, chanting anti-government slogans.
They accused the state government of not doing enough to secure the monarch’s safe return.
They also pointed fingers at certain political leaders, particularly those from the local government, alleging that they intentionally allowed the district head to suffer in the hands of the kidnappers before he was killed.
Recall that in a video released a few days before his death on Wednesday night, the district head had appealed to the state government, friends, and well-wishers to save him from being killed.
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In the 59-second video, the 74-year-old monarch pleaded for his release from the hands of his abductors, saying, “I want to call on my people, my lovers, my friends, and my leader to know that it has gotten to the end today, Wednesday.
So if they want to help me, they should do so. I swear to Allah, these people are tired of us too; they have done all they could do, but the government did not help us.
I have been appealing to the government to help me, but they didn’t, and I am their worker. Over the years, I have been working for the state government.
I am 74 years old today, and I have been working for the government for about forty-five years now, and it’s all about traditional institutions.”
When contacted about the protests, the spokesman of the Nigerian Police Force, Sokoto State Command, ASP Ahmed Rufai, said the command is on top of the situation.
“We have prepared ahead for this as it was revealed through intelligence.
Since morning, when the funeral prayer was about to be conducted, the command has dispatched a tactical team from about three to four local governments close to Sabon Birni to join the team in the local government.
We are already taking control of the protests to ensure it doesn’t lead to a crisis,” Rufai said.
Efforts to reach the lawmaker representing the local government in the State House of Assembly, Aminu Boza, were unsuccessful as his number was not reachable at the time of filing this report.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE