Residents of Ungwan Ate in the Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Wednesday, organized a protest in response to the ongoing attacks and kidnappings that have affected their community and surrounding villages.
The demonstrators, numbering in the hundreds, effectively blocked the Ungwan Ate–Ungwan Mission road along the Kaduna-Kachia highway, urging both the federal and Kaduna state governments, as well as security agencies, to take immediate measures to safeguard their lives and property.
The protesters voiced their discontent regarding the escalating violence in their area, with many likening their homes to war zones due to the persistent threats.
One participant, Mathew Yakubu, informed reporters that gunmen had assaulted Ungwan Ate on Tuesday night, instilling fear in the community for over two hours and resulting in the abduction of one individual.
“We are not safe anymore,” Yakubu said. “These bandits strike at will, and we’ve been left to fend for ourselves. The government and security forces must act quickly before more lives are lost.”
Carrying placards with messages such as “The Kaduna government says it has made peace with the bandits, but we are being killed every day in Kachia” and “We cannot go to farms, as the majority of us depend on farming,” the protesters voiced their anger and desperation. Other signs read, “Uncountable souls are in the bush suffering for offenses they know nothing about” and “We can no longer sleep with our eyes closed. Who is killing us?”
The protest comes amid a dramatic surge in kidnappings and violence across Kachia Local Government Area, with neighboring communities like Gadanji, Ungwan Wage, Ungwan Alhaji, Agunu Dutse, Maro, and Ungwan Dauje also enduring frequent terrorist attacks. The residents are pleading for government intervention before the situation worsens further.