The escalating gang violence in Kano State is spiraling out of control, with ordinary residents now becoming victims in the cycle of revenge killings among thugs.
Last weekend, a clash between rival gangs in Kurna Mayanka, Yan Yashi, and Tudun Fulani led to the deaths of four people. Among them was Usman Hamidan, who was brutally murdered inside his own home.
DAILY POST spoke with his mother, Hajiya Habi Hamidan, an elderly woman of nearly 80 who is battling paralysis and has been left shattered by the loss of her only son.
“They broke into our house in the middle of the night while I was lying down sick in my room. I suddenly heard his screams in the courtyard as they were slaughtering him. When I looked, I saw four of them, they covered their faces with masks. I was crying, begging them not to kill my son, but they told me they were sent just to kill him and wouldn’t leave until they completed their mission,” she recounted tearfully.
Hajiya Habi said she watched helplessly as they beheaded her son, his brains spilling on the floor, before they opened the gate and walked out.
“The whole place looked like abbatoir, blood everywhere. They even licked the blood from their knives as I watched. He was my only son, the one who took care of me, fed me, and helped me since I became paralyzed. They killed him. Allah will judge them,” she said, weeping.
Apart from Usman, several others in Kurna, Ungogo Local Government Area, have reportedly been murdered in similar attacks, with assailants storming homes to execute victims.
The local vigilante chairman, Alhaji Bashir Lawal Moriki, blamed parents for shielding their children, enabling them to continue criminal acts unchecked.
“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.
During a visit to the area, Kano State Commissioner for Internal Security, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Umar (Rtd.), urged residents to protect themselves, before security agencies arrive if such attacks occur again.
DAILY POST’s attempt to reach the spokesperson of the Kano State Police Command for comments on the allegations of indiscriminate arrests and ongoing investigations but it was not successful.
The gang violence in Kano appears to be taking a new, deadlier turn, with thugs now invading homes and killing residents, unlike in the past when attacks often occurred openly during the day.
