Amid COVID-19: Katsina youths begin protests against insecurity

The protesters blocked the highway with trees, stones and worn out tyres.
Katsina is one of the states worst-hit by bandit activities in Nigeria [The Punch]

Dozens of youths in three Katsina villages took to the highway to protest against insecurity in the state on Thursday, August 6, 2020.

Youths in Turare, Marke, and Dogon Ruwa villages in Dutsin-ma local government area of the state blocked the Dutsin-ma-Kankara highway, according to a report by The Punch.

The protesters blocked the highway with trees, stones and worn out tyres to demand the government put an end to banditry in their communities.

They reportedly chanted songs to express their displeasure over the insecurity that's plagued their communities for months.

Their protest was cut short by security personnel who arrived the scene to clear the highway and allow commuters move freely on Thursday morning.

Katsina is one of the flashpoints of violence that has lingered especially in the northern part of the country for years, with bandits wreaking havoc that has claimed hundreds of lives.

In the past couple of months, there have been similar protests by residents who called on President Muhammadu Buhari, a Katsina native, to put an end to killings.

A poster of the president was set on fire during one of such protests.

Last month, the president appealed to them to stop taking to the streets to protest because it could distract military operations in the area.

"Nigeria's military has displayed its capabilities in the past and will show it again by dealing with the current challenges," he said.

With the failure of the president's assurance still evident in the attacks that have happened since, Buhari this week told service chiefs to immediately re-engineer the nation's security apparatus to effectively combat threats.