Karauye: Gang violence puts Katsina metropolis on edge

The brutal killing of a popular Hausa musician, Abubakar Idris, known as Abu Amshi, by thugs called Kauraye in the Katsina metropolis on 20 March, sent shockwaves across the metropolis and beyond. Sadness and anger overtook music lovers and Mr Amshi’s fans.

Beyond that, the killing also shocked local authorities.

When the State House of Assembly returned from its Eid El Fitr holiday on 30 March, the member representing Katsina area, Aliyu Albaba, moved a motion of urgent attention on the menace of the Kauraye in his constituency.

“I was alarmed by the killing of three people by the Kauraye in my constituency. I made it a priority to take the issue to the House so we could find a way to tackle the menace. When you look at it, the number of areas becoming vulnerable to Kauraye activities keeps increasing, hence the need for us to act,” the lawmaker told a Katsina-based online news medium, TM Hausa, last week.

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Gang violence in the Katsina metropolis has a long history, but it became notorious around 2008 when members of rival gangs living in separate quarters introduced inter – community clashes that have claimed several lives. Most of these confrontations were recorded at night.

During such clashes, the Kauraye not only attack their rivals but also innocent residents of the quarters they attacked.

Before, confrontations were mainly restricted to certain areas, but the menace has gradually spread to several other areas in and outside the city walls.

“This area used to be safe before some of our younger brothers began abusing drugs and befriending people from other areas,” a resident of Tudun Matawalle who only gave his name as Murtala, said.

Mr Murtala, a panel beater, said the youth in his Tudun Matawalle area started hosting their friends from other areas in the metropolis to smoke weed, especially in the evening.

“That was when we began experiencing fights here. Sometimes the Kauraye in this area would invite their friends from other areas to attack a rival gang in another area and in some instances, we witnessed attacks in this area too by Kauraye from other areas,” Mr Murtala said.

Armed with cutlasses, knives and sticks, members of Kauraye groups operate mostly in the night and early morning, roaming streets and areas, looking for members of rival groups and innocent civilians to attack.

Some of the areas in the metropolis that have become notorious are Rahamawa, Tudun Matawalle, Sabuwar Unguwa, Kofar Marusa, Shararrar Pipe, Dan hako, Kwabren Doruwa, Unwala, Jan bango, Filin Canada, Tudun Wada, Gawo, among others.

The Kauraye also attacked security agents and security formations, especially the Nigerian Police Force and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

In December last year, a group of Kauraye burnt down an NSCDC outpost in Sabuwar Unguwa after a police team attempted to arrest a member of the gang.

Residents who have witnessed a Kauraye violent clash said most of the fights began as brawls between two persons from different areas or groups. In some cases, the issue escalated into a full-blown clash that might need the involvement of security agents to quash.

“Less than a month ago, a brawl between two Kauraye over a dog escalated into a full-blown clash between rival Kauraye groups in Unwala area and Farin Masallaci area. Three people lost their lives and several others got injured,” Muhammad (surname deliberately hidden) who resides at Bayan ATC, told PREMIUM TIMES.

“It was like an Indian movie. I was at home around 10 p.m. People shut their doors and windows and went to a forced sleep. And it’s not as if we don’t know the boys doing this; they are from these areas. We know them but we can’t talk. This is what we’re going through.”

Several residents who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES echoed Mr Muhammad’s assertion. The Kauraye are not people from other cities. These are young men born and brought up in the areas they mostly terrorise but fear of reprisal has silenced residents and discouraged them from cooperating with security agents to make arrests.

For several residents, the menace of Kauraye goes beyond gang violence. Several instances of Kauraye attacking and killing or injuring residents going about their business have been recorded.

Marwan Usman, who was savagely attacked outside his shop in Kofar Kaura, will live with the trauma of the attack for life. While Messrs Usman and Auwalu were lucky to survive a Kauraye attack with serious injuries, several residents didn’t live to narrate their experiences.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt from victims and other residents that in most cases, the Kauraye usually invade an area to fight members of a rival group, but when they find no one from the rival group, they vent their anger on innocent residents of the area.

Government, police respond to violence

Commenting on the activities of Kauraye in the metropolis, the police spokesperson in the state, Abubakar Aliyu, said the command was determined to tackle all criminal activities in the state.

He told PREMIUM TIMES that the police had arrested the suspected Kauraye gang leader that led the attack that resulted in the killing of the popular Hausa musician.

“Notable among these was the arrest of a notorious member of social miscreants terrorising the state metropolis, linked to the killing of one “Abu Amshi”, following receipt of credible intelligence,” Mr Aliyu, a deputy superintendent of police, said in a statement.

On Monday, Governor Dikko Radda received a delegation from the Katsina local government council to discuss the menace of Kauraye in the state capital.

During the meeting that involved community leaders, political leaders, security agents and other stakeholders, Mr Radda called for “strong collaboration between security agencies, community leaders and residents in the fight against Kauraye.