HASKEY, Kumba:

Students worried about the whereabouts of their master
A man, Yusufu Idirisu, about 44, is presently on the run for fear of being persecuted by the forces of law and order. Yusufu Idirisu escaped from Kumba to an unknown destination when he learnt that the police were searching for him. He was accused of inciting violence and vandalism by leading in the production and distribution of tracts on the 4th and 5th of July 2014, calling for civil unrest, strike and vandalism to be held on the 7th of July 2014. The planned demonstration was in protest of a decision by the government to raise the prices of fuel.
    Children of Mr. Idirisu’s NGO, HASKEY (meaning light in native Hausa) took to the streets on 4th July and successfully distributed the tracts but on the fifth of July 2014 they were arrested while still in the process of distributing the tracts. Yusufu Idirisu was later summoned by the police after the children disclosed that he was their leader and organizer.
    The children were mostly vulnerable children from poor homes in Hausa quarters Kumba, whose parents could not enroll them in school because of poverty. With the increase in fuel prices some of the parents feared that the prices of basic commodities, including school needs would also rise in the market. They threatened to withdraw their children from school if the situation turned out to be so.

    A teacher by profession, Idirisu did not support the idea of parents abandoning their children of school going age to roam the streets and indulge in delinquent activities just because the parents could not afford school fees.
    He created the NGO, a few years back with the objective to give advice, counseling and material and financial assistance to destitute children.
    So, when some of the parents of the children hinted Yusufu Idirisu that they might not be able to sustain their children in school because of the high prices of basic commodities on the market, Yusufu was said to have sent the children to the streets to protest the decision by government. He believed that by so doing the government could be made to come back to its decision.
    When the children took to the streets on 4 and 5 July 2014, disturbing traffic and making loud noises using empty containers, some of them were arrested by the police and locked up. They were charged for disturbing the peace.
    Meanwhile, the police also issued an arrest warrant for the promoter of the NGO, Yusufu Idirisu, this was after he failed to turn up for interrogation. According to an undisclosed family source, Idirisu upon hearing that he was being sought after by the police, fled to a yet unknown destination, leaving behind his family members.
    Family members say that ever since his disappearance they have not had a quite sleep, especially because they doubt if he is still alive.