By Editor
A human rights lawyer, Barrister Badamasi Gandu, has accused the Kano State Police Command of attempting to cover up the circumstances surrounding the death of a Civil Defence officer, Mustapha Small, during a clash between policemen and the residents of Dan Maliki, Kumbotso Local Government Area last week.
According to eyewitnesses who spoke to Sahelian Times, the incident occurred during a local event when police officers attempted to pass through the gathering. In the ensuing chaos, one of the officers reportedly opened fire, hitting Small, who collapsed in a pool of blood. Friends of the deceased rushed him to a hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
“We were shocked to see how the police arrested two of the deceased’s friends after they had taken him, covered in blood, to the hospital,” Gandu said. The arrested friends were identified as Safwan, a staff of the Fire Service and Musa, another Civil Defence officer.
The case has since been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Bompai police headquarters. However, Barrister Gandu expressed concern over what he described as “a suspicious attempt to distort the facts.”
He alleged that the police initially admitted that their officer fired the fatal shot but claimed it was only meant as a warning. Later, they suggested the victim died from a stab wound, though they failed to identify the alleged assailant. Gandu also questioned the swift removal and hurried burial of the corpse, describing it as “highly suspicious.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Kano State Police Command, SP Abdullahi Haruna, denied that a police bullet was responsible for the death. “Investigations are ongoing, but it was not a police bullet that killed the deceased,” he said.
The controversy has fueled public concern in Kano, with human rights advocates calling for a transparent and independent investigation into the killing.
