Calm Returns As Police Lift 24-Hour Curfew In Kano

The police command in Kano State has lifted the 24-hour curfew it imposed on the state on Wednesday when the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigerian People Party (NNPP) and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Yusuf Gawuna as the winner.

To prevent the mounting tension caused by the judgement from escalating, the police promptly imposed a 24-hour curfew in the state.

  But yesterday evening the command’s spokesperson, SP Haruna Abdullahi Kiyawa, on a WhatsApp group for journalists and the police public relations, said the curfew had been lifted.

 He said, “The curfew is lifted, according to the state government”.

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The apprehension that led to the imposition of a 24-hour curfew in Kano on Wednesday evening has led to the shutdown of the economic and social activities as people in all nooks and crannies remain indoors in compliance with the stay-at-home order of the government.

Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles were seen parked on the entrance roads to Kano, and Zaria Road as of Wednesday.  However, by daybreak, the vehicles were allowed to move in and out of the town to disperse the hold-up.

Yesterday, the usually busy routes like Zaria Road, Murtala Mohammed Way and Ibrahim Taiwo Road, where the popular Kantin Kwari market is located, remained deserted with only a few vehicles seen plying the roads.

The ever-busy phone market called Farm Centre market and all the restaurants around the area were closed down and only the guards on duty were sighted.

Banks, schools, petrol stations, pharmacies and other business places are all closed down as people are seen seated in neighbourhoods interacting. Security agents were also positioned in strategic places across the city centre. Security agents have diverted traffic in some of the dual carriage roads into single lanes.