France riots: Nigerian youths should reject system letting them down, says Charly Boy

Charly Boy, the singer and activist, has reacted to the riots in France over the killing of a teenager by a police officer. 

Naël, a 17-year-old boy, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a French town, on June 27.

It is understood that the officer who killed the teenager has been placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide.

Pascal Prache, the state prosecutor, had said a bullet penetrated Naël’s arm and chest, resulting in his death.

The development has sparked widespread unrest across major cities in the country, with many people hitting the streets to protest the teenager’s death.

On Saturday, the police said nearly 1,000 people involved in the lingering protest have been arrested as the unrest enters the fourth day.

Offering his opinion on the incident in an Instagram post, Charly Boy said Nigerian youths should take a cue from the protest and “reject a system that has let them down”.

“This isn’t Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. This is France where 9% of the population has brought down entire cities! Karma from Africa?” he wrote in a short note accompanying a video said to be from the France demonstration.

“Am (I am) waiting on the exceptional Nigerian youths to reject a system that let dem down. Una destiny dey una hand.”

The activist, however, did not reveal what should be the justification for the call.