In Kano, there were differing opinions on Friday after a youngster scaled the well-known Kofar Nasarawa flyover bridge and allegedly threatened to kill himself if President Muhammadu Buhari did not step down.
According to reports, the young man, whose name has been identified as Hamza Yahaya, attracted a crowd on the busy street as people stopped to implore him to reconsider his decision.
Hamza was reportedly saved from the bridge’s pavement by members of the state fire department who reacted to the situation.
Abdullahi Madugu, an eyewitness and a resident of Kofar Nasarawa, who confirmed the news to Vanguard, said the man was en route to Friday Juma’at prayers when he surged over the scene of the event.
Around 1:30 pm, as I hurried to the Juma’at prayers, I noticed a sizable crowd gathered to see a young child who had scaled the popular Kofar Nasarawa bridge and made a threat to kill himself or demand that President Muhammadu quit.
“They (the nearby residents and even the firefighters) convinced him to descend, but he was adamant that he would not. I could actually hear him say it. He is not a little child. This can be a result of how things are in day-to-day life.
Madugu was reported by Vanguard as adding, “It was one Malam Musa (who move around hawking garments) that caught the attention of the fire service who deployed their guys and saved the youngster.
Saminu Yusif, a spokesman for the Kano State Fire Service, refuted suggestions that the man tried suicide due to hardship or that he would continue to do so until the President resigned.
According to Yusif, the agency received a distress call at 1:40 pm regarding the young man who was discovered on a bridge’s pavement.
He admitted to us that he has no idea how he got inside. He identified himself as a resident of the state’s Sharada area and claimed that he fled their home three months ago after their neighbor gave him N4,000 for an errand, which he then wasted.
“He is about 15 years old, so he cannot say such things (commit suicide or resign as president), but the accusations were made by individuals in the area who invented the tale based on personal experiences.
“Our men used strategies to successfully remove the youngster from the pavement. To look into the situation, we gave him to SP Rabiu Tale at the Kwalli Police Division, according to Yusif.
As of the time of this report, the state police leadership has not issued an official statement addressing the incident.
