Despite the banning of protests by the Kano State Police Command, residents of the state yesterday staged a peaceful protest to express their displeasure over the political logjam facing the state.
This came as the state police command said it had arraigned seven protesters arrested for staging the protests and attempting to cause unrest over the appeal court judgement in the state.
The protesters, who entered some streets in the state, said the people voted for governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, and should be allowed to rule the state.
One of the protesters, Hafix Ibrahim, said the protest was organised and decided that it would not last more than some minutes to avoid being arrested by security operatives.
Findings revealed that the protest was held simultaneously, at Kwanti- Kwari Market, Hotoro area and Naibawa areas of the state capital between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm and did not last more than some minutes.
The protesters, who caught the police unaware, staged the peaceful protest without causing any havoc, only expressing their displeasure, saying, “It is Abba we voted for. Allow Abba Gida to rule us”.
It is recalled that CP Gumel had warned that there must be no protest on the ongoing tussle surrounding the governorship election, which is now before the Supreme Court
According to him, the two political parties, the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC)had entered into a peace accord before and after the election, so that they would not stage protests.
Speaking during a press conference, Gumel said the arrested protesters, five males and two females, were charged in court to serve as a deterrent.
He had earlier raised the alarm over the activities of some faceless groups who hide under the guise of different lawful associations and were hell-bent on fomenting trouble and causing chaos in the state.
He, however, warned that the police would not hesitate to arrest and prosecute them.
According to him, “In our continued efforts to maintain peace and order following the appeal court ruling on the Kano State governorship election, the attention of the police command has been drawn to a planned protest by some faceless political groups who are currently hiding under the guise of different lawful associations, one of which is the Kano Traders’ Association.
“Already, the leadership of the Kantin Kwari, Sabongari, K/Wambai, Singer, and some other market traders associations within the metropolis, have informed the police command of their resolve on the planned protest.
“On this, the combined traders association not only disassociated themselves from such an unpatriotic plan but also made their position clear that they are not part of the ongoing political development in any way.
“They also reiterated that they neither have the intention to organise such a protest, nor close their shops today, Monday, November 27, 2023.
“Premised on this development, the market leadership has called on their members to remain law-abiding and move on with their normal legitimate businesses, and never to be distracted or dragged into partisan politics, as doing so will only jeopardise their businesses, truncate their lawful activities, and block their sources of livelihood.
“Furthermore, the traders pledged to continue working with the police to ensure peace and order in the state. They further maintained that without a peaceful atmosphere, their businesses will not thrive.”
