Fr. Achi: Women and youths in Kafin-koro, Paikoro local government area, Niger State, have razed the Kafin-koro Police Divisional Headquarters.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, three days after Reverend Father Isaac Achi, parish priest of St Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin-koro, was burned to death by terrorists who invaded the parish’s residence.
Trouble started when some Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and Catholic women’s groups converged on the burnt parish’s premises as early as 7am on Tuesday to pray against those who gruesomely murdered Rev Achi.
However, a police detachment from the Kafin-koro Police Division was dispatched to the church, claiming to be sent to protect the praying congregation, The Nation reports.
Still distraught over the police’s failure to respond in time and prevent the Father’s death, the women refused and resisted the police’s protection.
The women allegedly accused the police of failing to do anything to help the late Reverend Father and asked the operatives to leave.
To make their point, the women threw stones and sachet water at the officers, forcing them to retreat to their station.
Following the prayers, some youths joined the women in a peaceful march through the town’s major roads to the Police Division, chanting anti-police slogans to register their grievances.
They requested that the police leave town, claiming that their presence was of no security value to the community.
To disperse the crowd, police began firing into the air, with one bullet striking a middle-aged man who died instantly, transforming the protest into a violent exercise.
During the protest, some unidentified individuals set fire to the police division, causing the entire building to be burnt down.