Kano bans new Hisbah group, warns against parallel policing after Ganduje remarks

The Kano government has banned a group operating under the name Independent Hisbah Fisabilillahi, declaring its activities illegal and a threat to public order.

Abba Yusuf, governor of the state, signed the executive order proscribing the group on December 8.

The state government said it uncovered attempts by the group to recruit, train, and mobilise youths without lawful authority, in violation of the existing Kano State Hisbah Board Law.

Speaking with journalists on Friday, Ibrahim Waiya, the commissioner for information and internal affairs, said the board is the only legally recognised institution authorised to coordinate Hisbah-related duties in the state.

“The emergence of a parallel group amounts to creating an unauthorised enforcement structure capable of undermining public peace and the statutory mandate of the Board,” Waiya said.

The commissioner said the order declares all activities of the group “unlawful, illegal and void”, noting that any impersonation of the Hisbah board’s uniform, symbols, or authority will attract sanctions.

He said the governor has directed the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other security agencies to investigate the promoters and take lawful steps to prevent a breakdown of order.

Waiya warned the public against participating in, supporting, or affiliating with the proscribed group, as it violates state law.

He urged individuals already recruited to disengage and report to the nearest security agency, Hisbah office, or local government authority.

The order also outlines penalties for offenders, including prosecution for unlawful assembly, impersonation, and establishment of unauthorised security formations, and takes immediate effect, with gazetting by the state government printer.

BACKGROUND

On November 28, the Kano government called for the arrest of Abdullahi Ganduje over alleged inflammatory remarks “capable of undermining” the state’s security efforts.

The state executive council noted that Ganduje’s comments on Kano’s vulnerability to banditry and a proposed plan to recruit 12,000 individuals under a new religious policing outfit, Khairul Nas.

Ibrahim Wayya, commissioner for information and internal affairs, told journalists after the council meeting that cabinet members discussed Ganduje’s alleged provocative statement on the vulnerability of Kano to banditry.

“The council deliberated extensively over the recent inflammatory statements made by a former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the deputy senate president Barau Jibrin, who alleged that the state is vulnerable to banditry and further announced plans to recruit 12,000 individuals under a proposed religious police outfit named Khairul Nas,” the commissioner said.

The International Peace and Secure Society (IPSS), a civil society organisation (CSO), also expressed concern over reports suggesting attempts to establish a parallel religious policing outfit in Kano.

The CSO said the claims that Ganduje was linked to attempts to set up a Hisbah-styled body outside state control were “troubling and unacceptable”.

However, in a response Ganduje described the state government’s call for his arrest as “baseless” and “reckless”.

The former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said he has never been associated with violence nor linked to any act that undermines the peace and stability of Kano state.

He added the position of the Kano administration reflected “desperation” and “incompetence” on the part of the governor of the state.

The former Kano governor said the remark credited to the government is an “abdication of responsibility by a leader who has failed to secure the lives and property of citizens.”