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January 28, 2023
According to reports, the protesters set bonfires on fire and hurled rocks and other objects at the presidential motorcade.
A Muslim cleric from Sokoto State, Sheikh Bello Yabo, has compared the attack on President Muhammadu Buhari's convoy in Katsina to the stoning of the devil.
One of the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage rituals takes place in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and involves the stabbing of the devil or Satan with stones that are hurled at three walls known as jamarat.
Recall that on Wednesday, Katsina residents demonstrated against what they perceived to be unimaginable hardships inflicted on Nigerians by the Buhari administration.
According to reports, the protesters set bonfires on fire and hurled rocks and other objects at the presidential motorcade.
During his sermon on Friday, Mr. Yabo responded to the incident by saying that it captured the rage and frustration of many Nigerians, according to a report by Daily Nigerian.
He said, “This is how they should be treated wherever they go. This is how they will realise they wronged the people. True to their slogan, Katsina people have shown that they are only shy but fearless. And they showed that yesterday. May God bless them.
“They booed him as a thief and stoned him like the Satan. This is how people should revolt against their oppressors. Until we act this way, they will never regard us.
“What happened to him [Buhari] is a clear example of change from grace to grass. Remember, this is a man for whom many people were killed. But now look at how he is being embarrassed and pelted with stones in his own state like the Satan. I’m happy that his happened in Katsina; otherwise, it would have been given a different interpretation,” the cleric said.
Yabo also criticised human rights organisations for failing to speak out against the Central Bank of Nigeria's decision to redesign the naira, claiming that many people would lose their legitimate income as a result.
“Where are the human rights organizations? Or is this not an abuse of citizens’ rights? How many people will lose their legitimate and hard earned money as a result of this policy? But the good news is that people have begun to stand up for themselves,” he added.