One of the victims was shot dead while the police stabbed the other in a brawl that broke out when the police stormed the area to effect an arrest.
An uneasy calm has returned to Yar’Kukah area of Sharada, a suburb in Kano metropolis where police operatives attached to Anti-Daba of the police command in the state killed two persons Saturday night.
One of the victims was shot dead while the police stabbed the other in a brawl that broke out when the police stormed the area to effect an arrest.
The two victims were youths, and their death sparked a protest in the neighbourhood. The victims were Abubakar Isah Musa and Ibrahim Sulaiman.
Parents of the slain victims are still living in doubt as they have yet to be told why their children were murdered in cold blood by the police personnel.
DailyTrust reports that Malam Suleiman Ibrahim, Father of late Ibrahim Suleiman, insisted that only justice for his slain child could calm him from the shock of the death of his 28-year-old son.
He explained that the operatives stormed the area on Saturday around 9 pm in an unusual style. After arresting Ibrahim and his friend Abubakar, on the way, they were killed before they even got to the police station.
“Yesterday, November 14, around 9 pm, operatives of a police command under Anti-Daba unit entered into our neighbourhood and arrested Ibrahim and his friend, and while they were going with them, the police shot his friend dead, and for Ibrahim, they stabbed him with the knife on his back.
“We were not told why they were arrested, and what ensued before they were killed remains a mystery. We had followed that up to get an explanation from the police authority, but we have not been told anything yet,” he said.
He added that after the incident, the victims were taken to the hospital where Abubakar was confirmed dead on arrival, and Ibrahim died while receiving treatment.
He said after the incident the issue was reported to Sharada division and they were with the family throughout until the deceased was buried.
Similarly, Malam Musa Abdullahi, the father of Abubakar Musa, said, “I want the authorities to investigate and find out on what offence these children were murdered. Let there be justice to serve as a deterrent to others. We don’t want this injustice to continue.”
Ghaddafi Suleiman was the main suspect for whom the police stormed the area.
He explained that for three days, police had been coming to the neighbourhood to effect an arrest, but it had never occurred to him that he was the target until about two days ago when they came while a wedding party was ongoing in the area.
According to him, he was at a party venue within the neighbourhood when he noticed the informants of the police pointing at him in the crowd from afar to the police who had come to arrest him.
“Yesterday (Saturday), I was sitting with my elder brothers, and they came again, and on seeing them, I started running and a few steps, I fell, and they grabbed me. Then my brother came to plead, asking for my offence. They also held him saying that he was telling me to run away.
He said while they were moving away with him and his brother, one of the police personnel started shooting in the air and the process, the bullet hit Abubakar Musa, a childhood friend of his brother.
Ghaddafi explained that his brother was stabbed while trying to shield him when the police started maltreating him (Ghaddafi).
“They were beating me, and I fell on the ground. My brother stopped to pick me up. One of them took out the knife and stabbed him.”
He said after the arrest had turned bloody, the policemen fled and the victims were rushed to the hospital.
He said up till this moment; he has not been told why the police were hunting for him.
When DailyTrust visited the area, no fewer than 12 police vehicles and numerous personnel had been drafted to the room to forestall possible breakdown of law and order.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kano police command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, while confirming the incident said the state Commissioner of Police, Habu A. Sani, had ordered the arrest of the entire team that went for the operation, comprising civilian volunteers and the conventional policemen.
He said all had been detained at the state CID division for discrete investigation.
He called on the public to remain calm, saying the investigation had commenced to ensure that justice is served.
It will be recalled that last month, a similar incident happened at Kofar Mata area of the state capital during the heat of the EndSARS protest when a 23-year-old man, Saifullahi Sani, was killed by the men of the command during their routine night patrol.
He was killed at the front of his house in the alleys of Kofar Mata area. The incident led to a protest as youth around the area converged and burnt tires on the roads in the expression of their anger against police brutality.