Kano State is experiencing an uncontrollable increase in gang violence, with common citizens now falling prey to gangsters’ cycle of retaliatory killings.
Four people were killed in a fight between rival gangs in Kurna Mayanka, Yan Yashi, and Tudun Fulani last weekend. Usman Hamidan was one among them; he was mercilessly killed in his own house.
His mother, Hajiya Habi Hamidan, is an elderly woman of over 80 who is suffering from paralysis and has been devastated by the loss of her only son. The DAILY POST met with her.
I was lying down in my room feeling ill when they broke into our house in the middle of the night. As they were killing him, I heard his cries in the courtyard. When I glanced, I saw four of them wearing masks over their faces. She recalled sobically, “I was crying and pleading with them not to kill my son, but they told me they were sent only to kill him and wouldn’t leave until they finished their mission.”
Before they opened the gate and left, Hajiya Habi claimed to have watched helplessly as they decapitated her son, his brains splattering on the ground.
Blood was all over the area, giving the impression that it was an abbatoir. As I watched, they even licked the blood off their blades. He was my only kid and was responsible for feeding me, caring for me, and supporting me ever since I became crippled. He was slain by them. “They will be judged by Allah,” she continued, sobbing.
Usman is not the only victim of similar crimes in Kurna, Ungogo Local Government Area, where attackers have reportedly stormed homes to execute victims.
Alhaji Bashir Lawal Moriki, the chief of the local vigilante group, accused parents of protecting their kids so they could carry out crimes without being caught.
“This is the parents’ fault because these boys are from this community, not from the sky. We have to correct our own before change can happen. I swear, even if it’s my own son, if he does such a thing, I will hand him over to the authorities,” Moriki said.
A young security guard, Sabiu, who narrowly escaped death after being attacked with knives, described his ordeal.
He said, “They flashed a dazzling light in my eyes, and before I understood what was happening, I felt cuts and blows all over my body. You can see the wounds on my head,” Sabiu said.
Residents in the area blame widespread drug abuse among youth as a major factor fueling these violent gang activities.
They also accuse the police of arresting innocent youths after these incidents, further increasing fear in the community.
Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Umar (Rtd.), Kano State Commissioner for Internal Security, encouraged locals to defend themselves before security forces arrive in case such incidents recur during a visit to the area.
The Kano State Police Command spokesperson was not available when DAILY POST tried to contact them for comment regarding the claims of indiscriminate arrests and ongoing investigations.
Unlike in the past, when attacks frequently took place in the open during the day, gang violence in Kano seems to be taking a new, more deadly turn, with thugs now breaking into homes and murdering locals.
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