Residents of Ungwan Ate in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Wednesday took to the streets to protest incessant attacks and kidnappings plaguing their community and surrounding villages by terrorists.

The protesters, in large numbers, took over the Ungwan Ate–Ungwan Mission road along the Kaduna-Kachia highway, calling on the federal and Kaduna state governments, as well as security agencies, to take action to protect their lives and property.

They lamented that bandits have turned their communities into war zones, leaving them in constant fear and sleepless nights.

One of the protesters, Mathew Yakubu, who spoke to newsmen, said gunmen invaded Ungwan Ate on Tuesday night and operated for more than two hours, during which one person was abducted.

According to Yakubu, “We are not safe anymore. These bandits strike at will, and we have been left to our fate. The government and security agencies need to act fast before more lives are lost.”

The protesters were seen carrying placards with inscriptions such as ‘The Kaduna government says it has made peace with the bandits, but we are being killed every day in Kachia,’ ‘Uncountable souls are in the bush suffering for offenses they know nothing about,’ ‘We cannot go to farms, as the majority of us depend on farming,’ and ‘We can no longer sleep with our eyes closed. Who is killing us?’

The protest comes amid a drastic increase in kidnappings across Kachia Local Government Area, with neighboring communities such as Gadanji, Ungwan Wage, Ungwan Alhaji, Agunu Dutse, Maro and Ungwan Dauje also suffering from incessant attacks.