Kano State Government Demands Arrest of Former Governor Ganduje Over Alleged Illegal Militia Plan

The Kano State Government has called for the immediate arrest and investigation of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the state’s former governor and immediate past national chairman of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing him of attempting to establish an illegal militia group that could threaten public order.

The demand came after a meeting of the State Executive Council chaired by incumbent Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Officials said Ganduje and his political ally, Deputy Senate President Barau I. Jibrin, had publicly announced plans to recruit 12,000 youths into a new security outfit called “Khairul Nas” (Arabic for “Best of People”) under the Ganduje Foundation.

Kano State Commissioner for Information, Baba Halilu Dantiye, told journalists the proposal constituted an unlawful parallel security structure. “No individual, no matter how highly placed, has the constitutional right to create a militia in Kano State or anywhere in Nigeria,” Dantiye said. “Such pronouncements are reckless, inciting and capable of undermining the modest gains recorded in the security of lives and property in the state.”

The government drew a direct link between Ganduje’s statement and a bandit attack that occurred less than 48 hours later. On Wednesday night, gunmen stormed Danmallam village in Dawakin Tofa local government area, abducting at least 15 residents, according to local police spokesman Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa.