Two children have been killed in Yarliya’u community, Kurfi Local Government Area of Katsina State, after they allegedly identified a man suspected of stealing goats in the area.
The victims, identified by residents as Safiya Muddaha and Nura Abdulrashid, were reportedly attacked on Sunday while grazing goats in a bush near the community.
Residents told journalists that the children were among those tending to about 50 goats when a suspected thief allegedly entered the area and made away with two of the animals.
It was further alleged that the suspect later returned and killed the children to prevent them from identifying him and exposing his alleged involvement in the theft.
The incident has reportedly thrown the community into mourning, with relatives of the victims, Abdulrashid Sulaiman and Jibrin Yarliya’u, describing the killings as devastating.
Sulaiman expressed shock that the lives of two children could allegedly be taken over the theft of two goats.
He said the children were tending to the animals with others when the suspected thief allegedly took the two goats.
“What kind of society have we become where somebody can take the lives of innocent children because of two goats?” he asked.
Jibrin Yarliya’u also lamented the deaths, saying the victims were too young to understand the danger they were allegedly exposed to.
He appealed to the authorities to urgently investigate the incident, identify those responsible and ensure that they were brought to justice.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the alleged circumstances surrounding the deaths had heightened fear among residents, particularly parents.
“The children were said to have seen and identified the person who stole the goats. We suspect that they were killed because the person did not want them to expose him,” the resident said.
The resident added, “The lives of these children cannot be valued against two goats. We want the authorities to investigate what happened and tell us who killed them and why.”
The Chairman of Kurfi Local Government Area was unavailable for comment on the incident.
The Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sadik Aliyu, who was contacted for confirmation, reportedly promised to verify the information and respond.
However, he had not done so as of the time of filing the report.