Opinion

Heinous ‘Political’ Kidnappings And Killings In Ebiraland: At Whose Behest?

Published

3 years ago

December 25, 2023

Governor Yahaya Bello

By Ozumi Abdul

The prayers and pride of all parents in most African societies, my beloved Ebiraland inclusive are always to have them buried by their children.

In fact, it is considered an abominable disaster when parents shed tears over the deaths of their children, or bury them with their own hands while they are still alive.

They would go out of their ways to do everything within their power to avert such fate from befalling them because it’s ill-luck and ill-fate on their part.

However, this age-long potent belief since the coming on board of this outgoing administration of Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello close to eight years now has been consistently reduced to mere fictious and mythical one, as old parents, especially mothers, now cry over the deaths of their sons.

In some cases though, these old parents still die before their children, but it’s usually abrupt deaths because of the psychological inability to cope with the depression of having their children who mostly fend for them in incarceration without traces. Some even lose their sigts after years of umpteenth and consistent sobs.

My intents for writing this piece are not to indict Governor Yahaya Bello, and his administration that have been able to fight and suppress the issues of insecurities to a standstill in the state, rather to subtly call his attention to how some people who are allegedly close to him and his government are hellbent on tarnishing his award-winning record of the best governor in terms of security.

I sincerely want the governor to swing into action within these few weeks he has left in office, and quickly prevail on his subjects to have people who they allegedly condemned to Illegal incarcerations released, or account for them in case they are no more.

These alleged individuals are proverbial bats who are neither birds nor rats, they are without identities, they neither have the love of Ebiraland at heart, nor that of the governor, who on the lips service they profess to pay loyalty and allegiance to.

What they are mostly concerned about are their political and personal interest, they don’t mind whose horses are gored, they can sacrifice anything and anybody who are threats to their status quo.

Amid all wrongs, they would never tell truth to power they are very close to, because they don’t mind if the governor fails or not, in as much as their interests are protected.

They would equally do everything humanly possible to shield and frustrate whoever that has the ingenuity to tell the governor the realities of the state from assessing him, because they thrive in falsehood, lies, distortion, deception and fabrication.

These individuals would take people who dare to voice out publicly their displeasures towards some of the government’s anti people policies to the cleaner. They do this by hiding under the veiled guise of the governor’s directives, because they consider such constructive criticisms as threats to their avaricious self-aggrandizements if they get to the governor. Go and consult Mr Garido in Okengwe, who happened to be the only survivors of their nefarious onslaughts to tell you the tale.

They have been simply giving the governor bad names all along, they not honourable, but horrible.

I watched in pains, with broken and shattered heart an emotionally-disturbing viral video last week, wherein an old woman, who should probably be an octogenarian (in her late 80s most likely) was crying out her heart and almost had her voice hoaxed.

She cried and her eyes became swollen and misty, while also intermittently muttering words of pleas to Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello to come to her aid.

It wasn’t as if the grey-haired old, poor, wrecked, hapless and helpless woman from Ihima, in Okehi Local Government Area of the state was actually sick, and thus seeking the governor’s assistance to foot her medical bill. A big NO! It’s far off it.

Her pleads to the governor was simply for him to prevail on his appointees to release her only child who was reportedly whisked away in the sedate of a nightfall to an unknown location for alleged political reason.

Her ‘politically’ motivated kidnapped son, Kashim, she said was the sole sustainer of the entire family; a father of five, and husband.The old woman narrated how life has been hellish and nightmarish for the entire family Kashim left behind over eight months ago that he has been in incarceration of the alleged ‘unknown government men’.

As we speak, whether Kashim is still alive, or exterminated while in immurement remains unknown to virtually all of us, but clearly known to those who have their hands all soiled in his heinous ‘political’ kidnapping and durance.

Another sad, notable and attrocious political kidnapping similar to that of Kashim, that was reported via viral WhatsApp voice note barely a month ago was that of one Dahiru, also known as Decorous.

I also listened with heavy heart, as his aged mother narrated her sad ordeals.

The old woman had already lost her sights as a result of umpteenth sobs, because Decorous is her only surviving son that fends for her.

He fathers children numbering up to minimum of seven from two wives, and he is the sole fender for his immediate family and old mother.

According to the accounts of his two wives in the viral WhatsApp voice note, three months before Decorous unlawful “arrest”, arguments were said to ensued via phone call conversations between him and his old childhood friend, who is now a “powerful” member of the Governor Yahaya Bello’s cabinet.

Amidst the conversation via phone call, threats of him going to prison was said to be made by the said supposed childhood turned ‘powerful’ appointee friend, then Decorous retorted, challenging him to go ahead to execute his threat of him going to prison, else he is a bastard. Then three months after, masked men on military uniform were said to stormed Decorous’ yougourt factory and forcibly whisked him away with three of his workers who protested against their boss’ unlawful “arrest”.

I’m not alleging anybody as the orchestrator of his abduction here, but pardon me for using a Yoruba adage as a logical analogy thus: “Aje ke lale ana, omo kuloni, ta ni o pa omo? Meaning, a witch blubbed yesterday night, then suddenly a child died this morning, who then killed the child?

Again, a proverb in our native Ebira dialect would ask that, when a limping man enters a house, and moments later, a limping masquerade exited that same house, then who is in the masquerade?

Thus, threat of imprisonment was made during phone call conversations, then months later, Decorous a devout Muslim, who had no issues with anyone before then was allegedly kidnapped, and till date nothing has been heard of him, who then was behind his kidnapping?

If he (Decorous) and Kashim that was equally ‘kidnapped’ eight months ago in Ihima District were in any way found wanting to have broken the law, why were they not arrested in accordance to the dictates that are within the ambit of law, and get prosecuted in the the courts of competent jurisdictions?

Why were they ‘kidnapped’, leaving their families and loved ones in the dark over their whereabouts?

Now, after years and months respectively that these Ebira sons were ‘politically’ abducted, whether they are still alive today or extra-judicially killed, is a question no one can boldly answer including their family members.

No one can rightly attest to any of these two fates that must have befell Decorous and Kashim now, no one knows their whereabouts, and the kinds of treatments they are subjected to, but only their political abductors and orchestrators.

Sadly enough, there are tens or twenties of Kashims and Decorouses across Ebiraland whose fates have been decided in these similar heartless, monstrous and inhuman manners that are unheard of.

Their family members would only mourn in what German Noelle Neumann described as spiral of silence, accept their fates, move on, while the tales of their kidnapped brethren are interred eternally into the abyss of history.

They are gone forever and never to return again, their family members would hardly see them again. Their children especially those who are very young during the abductions of their fathers would hardly know the facial identities of their fathers again.

Who then takes up the responsibilities of these emergency-orphaned children, as they journey down the routes of futures laden with uncertainties? What are their fates of not becoming liabilities to themselves, their families and societies in future?

What about their emergency-widowed wives, what are their fates?

As I drop my pen here, I ask again, at whose behest are all the heinous political kidnappings and killings in Ebiraland? Who are the orchestrators?

In as much as answers can’t be readily be provided to these questions for now, one thing the culprits of these crimes to humanity should discern is that Anebiras don’t forget, they hardly forgive people who had committed attrocities against them.

Stale pounded yam can still be freshly hot even after hundred years. These individuals should better know this now that posterity shall take its due course

Opinion

Kano’s War On Drugs: How Barr. Muhyi’s Taskforce Is Changing The Game

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2026

Nigerian Tracker

By Muhammad Abubakar Suleiman

When Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf declared a public health emergency on drug abuse on July 22, 2026, and inaugurated the Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, many in Kano saw it as another committee. Three months later, the committee led by Barrister Muhyi Magaji Rimin Gado is dominating security headlines in the state.

The Taskforce was constituted as a multi-agency platform bringing together NDLEA, Police, DSS, Consumer Protection Council, Pharmaceutical Society, Ministry of Health, Anti-Daba Unit and other stakeholders. Dr. Ibrahim Garba Muhammad serves as Secretary.

From Raids to Results: Over 400 Arrests

According to briefings by the Chairman, within the first two months the Taskforce arrested more than 380 suspects and secured over 230 convictions. By September 29, when Barr. Muhyi spoke at the Kano Network of NGOs (KANET) Monthly Lecture at Nasarawa GRA, the figure had risen to over 400 arrests.

Presenting its scorecard to the State Executive Council in late September, the Taskforce reported a 35% reduction in drug-related crimes in the last three months, attributing it to intensified enforcement, seizures and over 500 convictions as of October 22.

Operations have focused on identified hotspots: Race Course, Filin Idi, Filin Mahaha, Tashar Rami, Kawo, Tashar Rimi, Jakara, Madigawa, Yalwa, Sanka, Kul Kul, Dogon Nama and Kukar Bulukiya.

Recoveries include Cannabis Sativa, Tramadol, Diazepam, Pentazocine, Pregabalin, Exol-5 and a Methamphetamine-based designer drug. In one case, 870,000 capsules of Pregabalin were seized from a pharmaceutical company over suspected diversion. Local weapons – knives, daggers, cutlasses and clubs – used by gangs were also recovered.

The Taskforce also recorded high-profile arrests. On August 18, it announced the arrest of a former Chairman of Rogo Local Government for allegedly selling and administering fentanyl injections to youths, after a victim who spent over N2 million on injections identified him.

Latest: Gang Sponsor Tracked to Port Harcourt

In its most recent operation, the Taskforce announced on October 30 the arrest of a 27-year-old suspected gang violence sponsor, Ishaq Lawan Ibrahim, popularly known as Malam Keya, from Yalwa in Dala LGA.

According to the committee, Malam Keya was allegedly financing violent clashes by rival Daba gangs in Dala that claimed lives. He fled to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after crackdown intensified, but was tracked and arrested in an operation led by Head of Operations, CSP Bashir Gwadabe, and brought back to Kano. He is now in police custody pending prosecution.

Chairman Muhyi said the arrest outside Kano shows the Taskforce will pursue suspects beyond state boundaries.

Beyond Enforcement: Children, Rehabilitation and Technology

The committee says its mandate is not just enforcement. It reported rescuing 43 underage children allegedly exposed to intoxicants and convicting two dealers – Kabiru Isa and Usman Hamisu – for the offence. About 125 persons were referred to the Kano Reformatory Institute in Kiru for rehabilitation. With Kiru overstretched, government has provided an additional facility in Tofa.

The Taskforce has set an ambitious target of taking 10,000 youths off the streets for rehabilitation, skills acquisition and reintegration.

On August 21, Barr. Muhyi inaugurated nine sub-committees to professionalize the fight: Finance; Media and Publicity; Advocacy and Sensitisation; Licences, Inventory and Verification; Compliance, Inspection and Electronic Tracking; Monitoring and Implementation; Intelligence; Reformative and Traditional Council; and Anti-Drug Coordination.

Tech Turn: AI, 24-Hour Line and NDLEA Support

In the last two weeks, the Taskforce unveiled a new approach. On October 22, Barr. Muhyi, on behalf of Governor Yusuf, donated operational equipment to the NDLEA Kano Strategic Command led by Commander Dahiru Yahaya Lawan, to boost operations.

He also disclosed that Kano is deploying Artificial Intelligence for surveillance and tracking of suspected dealers, and equipping a rapid-response centre with ICT and a 24-hour toll-free line where residents can report and get response within 30 minutes.

At KANET lecture themed “Kano Drugs Crisis: Challenges, the Way Forward and the Role of the Community,” Muhyi stressed community intelligence and called for more rehabilitation to decongest remand homes.

No Sacred Cows

From day one, Barr. Muhyi has maintained a hard line on political interference. “No politician can pressure me to free drug suspects. The only person who can stop me is the Governor, and I know he will never interfere,” he told journalists on July 28.

That stance, coupled with intelligence-led raids, has earned the Taskforce both praise and scrutiny.

The Bigger Picture

Kano Police data cited by the Taskforce indicates about 70% of major crimes in 2025 were linked to drug abuse. The Executive Order outlawing Daba gangs provides a minimum of five years imprisonment under Section 97A of the Kano Penal Code.

Whether the Taskforce can sustain momentum will depend on three tests: securing the drug supply chain from pharmaceutical diversion, expanding rehabilitation beyond Kiru, and maintaining inter-agency cooperation without becoming a parallel enforcement body.

For now, in the markets of Filin Idi and the streets of Dala, residents say the presence of the committee is being felt.

Opinion

The Reward For Hardwork Is More Work: A Rejoinder To Dr Garba Ubale Danbatta

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2026

Nigerian Tracker

By Nworisa Michael

The redeployment of Hon. Comr. Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya PhD from the Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has attracted several reactions. While professional and civic organisations have congratulated him and acknowledged his contributions, Dr Garba Ubale Danbatta, a supposedly veteran journalist, has chosen to use the development to question his performance and professional conduct in his former ministry.

Dr Danbatta is entitled to his opinion. Nobody should be above criticism, especially in public office. However, when criticism is presented as a professional assessment, it should be supported by facts, not merely personal convictions or years of experience.

Before concluding that journalism suffered under Waiya, perhaps we should examine some of the developments recorded during his tenure.

Eight contributions worth considering:

• Grassroots information: Strengthened engagement with Information Officers across Kano’s 44 local government areas and eight zonal offices.

• Capacity building: Supported training programmes for local government Information Officers, alongside interactive engagements with editors and news managers.

• Media policy: Facilitated the inauguration of an 18-member committee to develop a media and information policy framework for Kano State.

• Digital transformation: Established a Digital Multimedia Department to modernise government communication, improve digital engagement and address misinformation.

• Peacebuilding: Advanced the Safe Corridor Project, an initiative focused on rehabilitation, skills development and reintegration of reformed youths.

• Media engagement: Engaged media practitioners, online publishers and political programme presenters on responsible public communication and professional conduct.

• Institutional development: Pursued interventions aimed at strengthening state-owned media institutions and improving the capacity of personnel within the information machinery.

• National recognition: Received the Crisis Communicator of the Year award at the 2026 National Spokespersons Awards in Abuja.

These developments do not mean that Waiya’s tenure was without shortcomings. They simply demonstrate that there is more to his record than the sweeping conclusion offered by his critic.

There is also something interesting about the public reactions to his redeployment. The Kano State Forum of Information Officers, Northern Youths Assembly and International Peace and Secure Society are among the organisations that have publicly acknowledged his contributions and congratulated him on his new assignment. Their statements may not settle every debate about his tenure, but they show that his work was not viewed negatively by everyone who interacted with his ministry.

Now, to Dr Danbatta’s presentation of his professional experience.

I found it rather curious that a commentary intended to assess another public officer’s performance devoted three of its concluding paragraphs to the author’s own professional journey, positions held and years of experience. One could almost finish reading the piece knowing more about the author’s resume than the evidence behind his criticism of Waiya.

Same individual who has been unable to ensure good working relationship with his staffs at Pyramid Radio Kano where is currently serves as its manager, a station that constantly runs out of diesel and goes off the air, perhaps even he isn’t proud of this hence he left it out from the list of his workplaces listed.

With due respect, professional experience is valuable, but it should strengthen an argument, not become the argument itself. A good product sells itself. A journalist’s professional standing should be reflected in the quality, fairness and depth of their analysis. Thirty years in the profession deserves recognition, but it does not automatically make every opinion conclusive.

If the intention was to assess Waiya’s stewardship, then the more important questions should have been: What did he inherit? What did he change? Which initiatives did he introduce? What measurable outcomes were achieved? And where did he fall short? Those are the questions that give criticism substance.

We can be safe to say that Waiya’s redeployment was a direct reward for his performance in the former ministry. The Governor has publicly explained the cabinet adjustments as part of efforts to strengthen institutions and improve service delivery. What is evident, however, is that Waiya has been entrusted with another important responsibility, and his record in the former ministry remains open to public examination.

The Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs is not beyond criticism, and neither is Dr. Waiya. But fairness requires that we acknowledge the work done alongside the shortcomings alleged.

Frankly the most fitting way to understand this new assignment is captured in the title of this piece: the reward for hard work is more work. His previous assignment is now part of his public record; his new ministry presents another opportunity to serve.

Congratulations, Hon. Comr. Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya. The expectations continue.

Nworisa Michael is a
Writer, Public Affairs Commentator and writes from nworisamichael1917@gmail.com
1st Nov. 2026

Opinion

My Achievements At Kano State Ministry of Environment — By Dr. Dahir M. Hashim

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2026

Nigerian Tracker

Looking back on my time at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, one change I value most is how the public came to see the sector itself. Environmental protection became a stronger part of conversations about our health, neighbourhoods, livelihoods, and Kano’s future. People increasingly joined the work, supported our programmes, and held us accountable.

For that, I thank the people of my dear state.

This journey began for me on 6 January 2025, when His Excellency, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Executive Governor of Kano State, entrusted me with the responsibility of leading the Ministry.

The challenges were clear. Facilities had deteriorated, policies needed updating, enforcement was weak, and frontline workers were owed outstanding payments. Yet His Excellency saw what the Ministry could become and gave us the support to begin rebuilding it.

Our government-owned nurseries tell part of that story. Eight facilities that had become non-functional were fully rehabilitated, restoring our capacity to produce seedlings locally. Building on the administration’s three-million-tree planting programme in 2024, the programme grew to five million in 2025 and ten million in 2026, with all seedlings raised in government-owned nurseries. Behind those numbers was the recovery of public facilities that could continue serving Kano for years to come.

The same determination guided the restoration of the Kano State Pollution Control Laboratory. We renovated, equipped, and recommissioned it, giving the State the scientific capacity to test, monitor pollution, and support enforcement. We operationalised the Environmental Pollution Control Law and developed the Environmental Pollution and Waste Control Regulations to give that work a stronger legal foundation.

At REMASAB, reforms improved the coordination of waste collection, evacuation, and disposal. Waste management became more organised and responsive, with operations supporting the evacuation of approximately one million metric tonnes of waste. The Dorayi Compost Plant was also brought back into operation, restoring the capacity to turn organic waste into useful compost and creating opportunities for investment.

Across flood-prone communities, we undertook drainage construction, clearance and erosion control. The stormwater harvesting intervention in Toranke and work on the Kano State Drainage Master Plan formed part of our effort to move towards better protection and long-term planning.

We also restored four public parks, with more underway. Spaces that had suffered neglect were given new management arrangements and a clear responsibility for maintenance. Families now have more welcoming places to spend time together, while the parks’ combined annual revenue increased from around ₦5 million to ₦90 million.

Alongside these projects, we rebuilt the policy foundations of the sector. We developed the Kano State Climate Change Policy, its implementation plan and results framework; advanced the Climate Change Bill; and reviewed the Forestry Law after more than five decades. We also developed the Climate Finance Reform Action and Implementation Plan and the Green Bond Framework to prepare Kano for environmental and climate investment.

Kano’s third-place finish in the just-concluded 2026 Climate Governance Performance Ranking, and the opportunity to present our work at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, gave us reasons to be thankful. They also reminded us how far consistent support and collective effort could take the state.

None of this work could have continued without the people delivering it every day. With His Excellency’s backing, we cleared nine months of salary arrears for 2,369 verified street sweepers and doubled their stipends, re-engaged inspectors and forest guards, and doubled the stipends of 875 sanitation vanguards. I remain grateful for their service.

Today, as His Excellency separates the ministries and appoints a new Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, my strongest feeling is gratitude.

To His Excellency, thank you for trusting me with this responsibility, listening to our proposals and supporting the decisions needed to carry them through.

To our staff and agencies, community leaders, development partners, civil society organisations, young volunteers, businesses and residents: thank you for standing with us. Your participation, patience and constructive criticism helped us improve. These achievements belong to everyone who contributed.

I congratulate the incoming Honourable Commissioner and offer my full cooperation to sustain the work we began together.

Serving the people of Kano State in this capacity has been a privilege. Thank you for the trust and support.

Dr. Dahir M. Hashim, Honourable Commissioner
Ministry of Water Resources, Kano State, writes from Kano.