Amina Yusuf's voice trembled as she recounted the final moments of her five-year-old son, Muhammad Sani. She explained that he was standing in the doorway of their home in Kano, a city in the north, when police fired upon protesters involved in the hardship rallies that have shaken Nigeria. Yusuf stated that her son was struck by gunfire and bled to death before she could get him to the hospital. 'I will never forgive the policeman who fired the shot that killed my child,' the 37-year-old mother told AFP.
Amnesty International reports that security forces have killed at least 21 demonstrators during a crackdown on a week of protests against government policies and rising living costs. Police claim seven people have died, but commanders assert that neither the police nor the army are responsible for any deaths. As the rallies subside, families are struggling with the loss of loved ones and demanding accountability.
In another part of Kano's Rijiyar Lemo neighborhood, Ladidi Umar is mourning the death of her 22-year-old son, Bashir Lawan. She told AFP that he was killed by police gunfire during the crackdown on Saturday. 'Bashir was shot in the leg and he fell. Instead of leaving him, the police also shot him in the abdomen, which was the fatal shot,' the 55-year-old mother said. 'I demand that the policemen who deliberately shot and killed my son be found and made to face the consequences of their actions. I want justice.'
Kano police have not responded to AFP's requests for comment. However, they have announced an investigation into whether officers are to blame for deaths in Nigeria's second-largest city, which has experienced some of the most intense violence since the rallies began. Police say they have arrested hundreds of people on suspicion of 'destruction, looting, and instigating chaos' in Kano. Amnesty has accused officers across Nigeria of using live rounds and excessive force, and has called for investigations into the conduct of security forces.
In an interview with AFP, Amnesty's Nigeria director, Isa Sanusi, said the organization had confirmed the killing of seven protesters by security forces in Kano's Kurna and Kofar Nasarawa districts. He stated that the nationwide toll represented a 'conservative figure' and that Amnesty was investigating more deaths. Most of those recorded by the rights group occurred in northern Nigeria. As protests quietened elsewhere, hundreds of people took to the streets earlier this week in the poorer north, which has borne the brunt of Nigeria's worst economic crisis in a generation.
For families already suffering as living costs soar, the loss of relatives is overwhelming. Both mothers AFP spoke to called for the police to pay compensation. 'One of our breadwinners is dead,' Umar said. 'He died in the hands of the police, and they should pay for his blood.' Yusuf said, 'the police have not shown remorse by even coming to offer condolences for my loss.' She described how affectionate her son was and how he rarely left his mother's side. 'I demand justice and compensation,' she said. 'I know it will not make up for the loss of my child, but it will lessen the pain.'
