A large group of youths took to the streets of Katsina on Sunday in a public demonstration in support of Iran, amid escalating tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel.
In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by social media user Oyindamola (@dammiedammie35), dozens of people could be seen waving Iranian flags and holding banners as they marched in unison through a street in the northern city. Chants in solidarity with Iran echoed through the air, as the demonstrators made their position on the ongoing Middle Eastern crisis clear.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Katsina protest came against the backdrop of an intensifying conflict between Iran and Israel, two regional powers locked in a long-standing rivalry that escalated dramatically earlier this year.
Tensions reached a boiling point in April 2025, when Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel in what it described as retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on its consulate building in Damascus, Syria. The airstrike killed several members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including senior commanders. Iran’s unprecedented retaliatory attack on Israeli soil marked a historic shift in the nature of hostilities between the two countries, transitioning from proxy confrontations to direct military engagement.
In response, Israel struck Iranian military infrastructure inside Iran, further fueling concerns of a full-scale regional war that could draw in multiple actors, including the United States, Gulf nations, and other militant groups aligned with Iran.
The conflict has since simmered, with both nations engaged in cyber warfare, intelligence operations, and military posturing, even as the international community calls for de-escalation.
Nigeria, a nation with a sizable Muslim population and long-standing diplomatic ties with both Iran and Israel, has maintained a neutral stance in the conflict.
As of the time of filing this report , it remained unclear whether the protest was organised by any particular group or was spontaneous in nature. Authorities was yet to issue a statement regarding the protest, and there were no reports of violence or arrests.
