Niger govt talks tough over killing of children in Yakpa

The Child Rights Protection Agency (CRPA) in Niger on Thursday promised to expose the killers of three children during an attack on Yakpa village, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
The agency Director-General, Mrs Mairam Kolo, who visited families of the deceased at Gwada Hospital where one survivor was receiving treatment, described the killing as “wicked and heartless”.

The three deceased children are aged between three and five.
Kolo said that the agency would work with relevant security agencies and volunteers to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted.
She also directed the immediate transfer of the survivor to Minna General Hospital for proper medical care, pledging that the agency would settle the medical bill.
The director-general, however, urged residents to report their problems to appropriate authority rather than take laws into their hands.

Earlier, the Director-General of the state Agency for Nomadic Affairs, Alhaji Abdullahi Babayo, appealed to the families of the victims not to retaliate, assuring them that efforts were on to apprehend the killers.
The grandmother of the deceased, Hajiya Maryam Umar, told newsmen that the attack was allegedly perpetrated by a neighbouring community.
She added that the corpses of the three children were still missing.
The Spokesman for the state Police Command, DSP Babalola Olanrewaju, confirmed the incident and said that the police has commenced full investigation.