Four killed, many injured as Ganduje inaugurates Kano APC executives

A clash between the supporters of two governorship aspirants on Saturday disrupted a political ceremony in Kano State.

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had inaugurated the executive committee of the All Progressives Congress in Rano local government area, a ceremony which left four persons dead and many others injured.

Mr Ganduje had, at the ceremony, at the Rano Township Stadium, also distributed APC branded vehicles to the new party officials in Kano South senatorial district.

The inauguration of the executive committees followed a court verdict last month that recognised party leaders elected at congresses conducted last year by loyalists of Mr Ganduje at the various levels in the state.

However, a fight broke out at the event between the supporters of Murtala Garo, the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, and those of Kabiru Rurum, a member of the House of Representatives representing Rano, Kibiya and Bunkure federal constituency.

Both men are in the race to succeed Mr Ganduje as Governor on the ticket of the APC in 2023.

One of the deceased victims, Hamisu Abdullahi, popularly known as Aga, was a resident of ‘Kofar Gabas’ in Barkum town of Bunkure local government area.

His younger brother, Abba Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES that his remains were buried Saturday night, having died from deep cuts he sustained during the clash.

He said the deceased, a butcher, had suspended his business following a phone call inviting him to attend the political event in Rano.

He left behind a wife and a child, the family source added.

Another victim, Dan-Mamadu Kaura, from Garo town in Kabo local government area, was a local government staffer.

Mr Kaura, a Fulani cattle herder who lived at the outskirts of Garo town, was recently recruited as cleaner by Rimin Gado local government.

Sources said he was at the event on the entourage of the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mr Garo.

Residents said the violent confrontation at the stadium was followed by an attack on the Rano General Hospital by armed thugs chasing injured members of the rival group who had been taken to the facility for treatment.

Locals said the situation caused panic among residents and traders around the hospital’s gate.

A hospital source told PREMIUM TIMES that the hospital admitted at least six injured persons and recorded one death, that of a resident of Barkum community (Mr Aga).

A resident of Rano town, Ibrahim Yusuf, said the two other persons killed at the event were not from Rano, but had come from Kano. Mr Yusuf said their corpses were evacuated by the police from the scene after the clash.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how a similar incident occurred in Rano town in 2019 when Mr Ganduje flagged off his re-election campaign.

According to the governor’s new media aide, Abubakar Ibrahim, Mr Ganduje inaugurated the party’s executives in the sixteen council areas of the senatorial district.

He said the governor also presented 16 vehicles to the local government party chairpersons in the senatorial district.

According to the official, the event was attended by the state chairperson of the APC, Abdullahi Abbas, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, and the member representing Rano, Kibiya and Bunkure federal constituency, Mr Rurum.

Other dignitaries at the event were Kawu Sumaila, a former lawmaker and presidential aide, and Mr Garo, amongst others commissioners and the governor’s aides.

When contacted, the police spokesperson in Kano, Haruna Kiyawa, said he would get back to our reporter over the incident, but he had not done so as of the time of this report.