The National Forum of Kano Indigene Lawyers has raised the alarm over the recruitment of parallel Hisbah police in Kano, a move it described as a deliberate ‘attempt to destabilise Kano State for political gains’.
In a petition by its National President, Usman Imam Tudun Wazirichi, National Secretary, Rita Benedict, the forum urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to avoid potential security implications of creating a private Hisbah group in Kano.
The lawyers alleged that the Dr Abdulahi Ganduje-led group can threaten the delicate co-existence of Muslims and Christians in the state, demanding urgent attention of the NSA.
Issuing out recruitment forms to willing youths in Kano, at the weekend, Ganduje, through former Managing Director of Kano Road Transport Agency (KAROTA), Baffa Dan Agundi, had said the initiative was to create opportunities for 12,000 individuals sacked by the current government.
He said the initiative, devoid of any political undertone, is to offer job opportunities to those rendered jobless by the state-established Hisbah Board.
According to him, the new Independent Hisbah Fisabilillah would be established under the Ganduje Foundation as voluntary, and not an affiliated group, to render religious services.
The lawyers argued that Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), provides that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’, insisting security is therefore a public function, not a private enterprise, foundation project or political legacy scheme.
Similarly, a coalition, including the Global Centre for Conscious Living Against Corruption, has demanded immediate disbandment of the new independent religious body.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday, convener of the group and the secretary, Dr Nwambu Gabriel and Mohammed Sadiq, urged the Kano State government to issue a definitive public statement declaring the organisation ‘illegal, unlawful and an enemy of the state’s security’.
They also called on the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Security Service (DSS) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to launch an urgent, comprehensive and transparent investigation into the promoters and structure of the group as well as sources, management and accountability of its substantial funding.
