The chairman of Rano local government area of Kano State, Muhammad Ya’u, has confirmed that the police tortured a youth, Abdullahi Musa, a mechanic, to death, a situation that led to a breach of peace in Rano town on Monday.
The chairman, who addressed a press conference in Kano, Tuesday night, confirmed to newsmen that the young man died in the process of torture and was crying until he stopped crying and gave up the spirit.
Confirming that normalcy has returned to Rano after the recent unrest, it was also said that so many things have been said about the unrest in the town that were not actually true, and so there is a need for clarity.
Ya’u said, “From the report available to us which came from some of the policemen, the late Abdullahi Musa was actually tortured to death by the police, which led to his death. He was crying during the torture until he stopped crying and gave up his spirit.
“After the death of the boy, at about 1am to 2 am the body was still with the police and was not taken to his family. I was also not informed even as I was supposed to have been informed.
“It was the late DPO himself who took the dead body to the boy’s family house and told them that the boy was ill and died in detention.
“However, those who were detained in the cells of the police station, as well as the policemen, confirmed that the boy actually died in the process of being tortured by the police. He was crying until he stopped crying and died.
“At the young man’s family house, where he was also the breadwinner of the family after losing their father, he was the one taking care of his mother, and the younger brothers and sisters were all dependent on him while he was working as a mechanic to support all of them.
“This angered the youth who refused to allow him to be buried and carried his dead body to the police station in raging anger”, he stated.
The chairman also explained how he made an effort to stop the incident from getting out of hand, which, if it had been followed, would have saved the current situation.
“We tried our best to save the life of DPO, but all to no avail. It was clear at that time that not even his subordinates at the police station could protect the DPO from the angry youths.
“I spoke with him severally on phone and even sent a motorcycle to him to use in escaping through the back exit of the station but he didn’t.
“The youth at that time were at the police station, and he came out with a gun and shot in the air to scare them away, but they were already out of control.
“He had to shoot some of them in the leg in self-defence. At this point, he can be commended for not shooting at them sporadically and killing them which he could if he wanted, but only shot at them on the leg.
“Unfortunately, instead of this to scare the youth away, they became more bitter, saying he killed one of them before and now is killing more. The aggrieved youth continues their attack carrying all sorts of weapons like sticks, cutlasses, and the like, until they overpowered the DPO and lynched him.
“As at the time he was rescued, he was taken to the hospital where he was confirmed dead,” he explained.
The chairman further called on the people of Rano not to compromise what they are best known for: peaceful coexistence.
He further assured that no stone would be left unturned by the authorities until justice is done, while consoling the bereaved families.
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