By Junaid Abdullahi
Angry protesters trooped to the residence of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, his hometown in Katsina State, on Thursday.
The protesters, in their numbers, joined the #EndBadGovernance nationwide demonstration.
The protest turned violent in some states, leading to deaths and forcing at least three governors to declare curfew.
The mob which attempted to break into the residence of the former number one citizen said they were fed up with the economic situation of the country.
“They set up bonfire in front of the former President’s house and were chanting loudly,” a witness told Daily Trust via telephone on Thursday.
In a video clip, young persons were seen shouting on top of their voices.
“Bama yi! Bama yi! Bama yi!,” the crowd chorused in Hausa.
The term, which literarily translates as “we don’t want”, is usually used as a form of disapproval during protests.
It took the intervention of an unidentified person who came out of Buhari’s residence to address the angry youths.
The person, according to the witness, asked the mob to select one person to speak, while he would be recorded and the video shown to the Nigerian leader.
After this, the angry youths reportedly headed for the palace of the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Farouk Umar Farouk.
One of them was reportedly shot on the leg by security operatives who were trying to disperse them but the protesters refused to back down.
According to a resident of Daura, who wouldn’t want his name mentioned, “I was at my place of work organising speech and prize event for our students when the protest began. I was briefed about what happened. I learnt that the protesters took to the residences of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Emir of Daura and Magajin Garin Daura.
“While returning home from my place of work, I moved through the residence of Alhaji Musa Uba, the Magajin Gari, a senior traditional title holder in Emirate, and can confirm that some minor damages had been done there. He was reportedly against the protest and that could be the reason the protesters attacked his house. They threw stones at the house but the situation was contained by security operatives. The palace of the Emir is being guarded by the army and police. As we speak, Daura is calm.”
