Kano Emirate summons district head

By CALEB AYANSINA

ABUJA – THE Kano State Police  Command have arrested 15 persons in connection with the recent burning of Baptist Church at Gidan Maso Village in Rogo Local Government Area of the state.

It will be recalled that during the incident which happened on April 1 at about 7:30 p.m., the resi-dence of the pastor, Rev Habila Garba, was burnt by irate youths, while one of his daughters died of suffocation.

The attack on the Baptist Church came barely one week after a similar inci-dent on a branch of the Living Faith Church popularly called Winners Chapel in Giwa, head-quarters of Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State by two unidentified arsonists.

Although the Kano State government sent one Alhaji Is’haq to assess the situat-ion, the Christian commu-nity were said to have been disturbed by his statement in Hausa language which interpretation means that “such an insignificant issue and destruction (where a life was lost) does not call for any mention at all, yet we went about publicizing it to the whole world.”

President of “Tarayyar Masihiyawan Nijeria” (Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri Christians), Gen. Ishaku Ahmed Dikko (retd), re-vealed this while giving a situation report of the incident on Sunday in Abuja.

He noted that in spite of the arrest, four of the youths were still “roaming about boasting and threat-ening the Christians be-cause they have not been arrested.”

His words: “In response to the cry of Tarayyar Masihiyawan Nigeriya (Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri Christians Association) on the above incidence and the publicity given to it by the Press, we received attention from the Niger-ian Police, Emir of Kano and Kano State Govern-ment.

“The Nigerian Police went and inspected the damage and on April 5 they arrested six youths. Later on, they went back to arrest nine more who are all at the Kano State Police Command CID.

“The action of the Police pacified and encouraged the Christian Community. One of our own, Barrister Inusa Bako, is representing our interest and monitor-ing the prosecution which is now in the hands of the Kano State Commissioner of Police.

“However, there are still four of the youths that are roaming about boasting and threatening the Christ-ians because they have not been arrested. Efforts should be made to arrest them,” he said.

Dikko explained further that “on April 9, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Mohammed II, invited the Hakimin Rogo (District Head), Dagacin Kadana (Chief), CAN chairman in Rogo L.G.A, Rev. Bulus Fara, the Baptist Church pastor, Rev. Haliba Garba and the CAN P.R.O of Rogo Mal. Kabiru Garba to his palace. The district head read out the details of what transpired and the Emir expressed his dismay at what happened.