#EndBadGovernance: Protest turned violent in Kano despite governor, Sanusi backing

The #EndBadGovernance protest turned violent in Kano, on Thursday, as hundreds of residents poured out on the streets calling for an end to economic hardship.

PREMIUM TIMES observed how some protesters around BUK Road ignored police advice and made bonfires with used tyres on a highway, causing obstruction and panic.

Residents in various locations in the metropolis joined the protest, chanting anti-government slogans.

However, the protests turned violent in some areas as the protesters destroyed billboards and attacked flashy vehicles, despite many motorists waving green leaves to indicate their solidarity with the protesters.

In fear of possible attacks on businesses, the major markets in the state – Kantin Kwari textile market, Kofar Wambai market, Sabon Gari – closed on Thursday.

Despite the precautions, some protesters broke into several shops in the metropolis and looted food items.

The protesters also vandalised and looted valuables at government establishments, including a court records office at the Audu Bako Secretariat Complex at the State Road.

The protesters later converged at the Kano Government House where they delivered their charter of demands to the Governor, Abba Yusuf.

Earlier on Wednesday, Governor Yusuf, at a town hall meeting attended by the reinstated Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, backed the protests. But he advised the organisers to be civil and submit their demands to him for delivery to President Bola Tinubu.

At the meeting, also attended by the state’s council of Ulamas, traditional rulers, business community, Mr Yusuf said the exorbitant prices of petroleum and electricity have caused severe hardship.

“Government should review electricity tariff. It is another burden on Nigerians. We call on the federal government to reduce the prices as it would ease the hardship on Nigerians,” the governor stated.

Mr Yusuf stressed the constitutional rights of citizens to express displeasure over government policies but advised the protesters to be peaceful.

“Nigerians have the right to conduct protests but it should be peaceful. The situation in the country is what prompted the protest.

“But the protest should be peaceful. We will not condone lawlessness, a situation where people would be killed, government formations be attacked, schools attacked, Mr Yusuf said.

In his remarks, the reinstated emir, Mr Lamido, subtly endorsed the protesters, calling on them to identify themselves.

“I am not against the protest but who are the organisers of the protest, and what are their agendas? We need to know all these before joining the protest,” Mr Sanusi at the town hall meeting at the government house on Wednesday.

The protest organisers submitted their complaints to the governor for upward submission to President Bola Tinubu.

However, the governor, on Thursday, blamed the violence on the opposition in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the party of hiring thugs to turn the protest violent.

The governor, in a statement by his spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, claimed that APC thugs vandalised public properties during the protest and called on the police to arrest them.

Mr Bature said the governor expressed disappointment over reports that certain individuals he described as enemies of Kano State, allegedly hired thugs within and from neighboring states to disrupt the peaceful protest.

He said the protest caused chaos in Kano, which he described as one of the most peaceful states in the country.

“We are aware that unpatriotic politicians from the opposition party have sponsored thugs, who are on a rampage, looting and destroying properties of innocent citizens,” the governor was quoted in the statement.

Mr Yusuf ordered security agencies to immediately arrest the thugs and their sponsors, the statement said.