5 Feared Killed In Kano Fuel Hike Protests As Govt. Slams Curfew

THE BAR ASSOCIATION IN KANO DURING TODAY'S FUEL PRICE HIKE PROTEST.

KANO, January 09, (THEWILL) - Youths in their thousands, believed to be protesting the Federal Government’s sudden removal of fuel subsidy, some of whom were clad in military uniforms, Monday made a failed attempt to invade the Kano Government House, with an alleged hidden agenda to abduct the State Governor, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
 
The charging youths, described by the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris as criminals, besieged the Government House, breaking through the vertical concrete slabs used for the fencing of the complex before gaining entrance from several points.

It was clear from today’s outing that hoodlums and criminal gangs had hijacked the nationwide protest against the removal of fuel subsidy.
 
The unruly crowd informed the decision of security operatives stationed at the entrance of the Government House Complex to fire several canisters of tear gas to disperse them, forcing them to retreat, but remained resolute in their bid to invade the complex.

Their resolve paid off later when they overpowered the police, who spontaneously issued a distress call for the military’s assistance that arrived and deployed minimal force to disperse the angry mob.

However, before help came, more than 25 government vehicles had either been torched or vandalized inside the complex within the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.

 At the end of the chaos, unconfirmed reports said 5 persons were killed while several others including law enforcement personnel sustained several degrees of wounds.

Also, some rampaging youths invaded the Silver Jubilee Roundabout in the heart of the city where they vandalized everything in sight after severally clashing with security operatives stationed at the venue to ensure peaceful protests.
 
During an emergency press briefing, the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris blamed criminals for hijacking the protests. He said several arrests have been made with one protester clad in military uniform claiming to be a resident of Borno but had travelled to Kano because of the protests. Another protester detained had a military identity card in his possession.

Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Information and Internal Affairs, Dr Umar Farouk Jibril at another press conference disclosed that the State Government has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew, starting from 6pm to 8am with immediate effect, explaining that the move was due to the fragile security situation in the State.