‘We wanted to protect them’ — Kano CP defends anti-Tinubu meeting blockade

The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, has defended the police blockade of a venue booked for a meeting of the ‘Tinubu Must Go’ movement, saying the action was intended to protect the organisers and residents.

Bakori said the police had no intention of preventing the group from exercising its constitutional rights but wanted to establish the nature of the gathering and make adequate security arrangements.

The commissioner spoke in an interview with DCL Hausa following complaints by members of the movement that police officers prevented them from accessing their meeting venue on Sunday.

One of the conveners, Abba Hikima, had alleged in a Facebook live video that more than 10 mobile police vehicles were stationed at the venue.

Hikima described the action as an infringement on the group’s civic rights, insisting that it did not require police permission to hold a meeting at a private venue it had booked.

He also threatened further protests and demonstrations against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

However, Bakori acknowledged that the group had the right to assemble, arguing that notifying the police would have enabled the command to provide security for the meeting.

“What happened is that, in the first place, it is their right to come and organise their gathering. Nobody will stop them, and the law does not require them to inform us,” he said.

“However, notifying us is important because it allows us to regulate the event and ensure there is no tension, that nobody attacks them and that they do not engage in any activity in Kano that can constitute an offence.”

The commissioner said he contacted Hikima after seeing information about the planned meeting on social media.

According to him, the organisers indicated that about 700 people were expected to attend the gathering.

Bakori said he asked Hikima to postpone the meeting and meet with the command to discuss security arrangements, but the proposed discussion did not take place.

“I told him it was important for them to notify us so that we could provide security for them and the people of Kano State,” he said.

The police commissioner said the command was concerned about the possibility of a breakdown of law and order, particularly in view of a recent incident in the Sabon Gari area of Kano.

He claimed that police had seized weapons and arrested some people who allegedly said they had come to the state for political activities.

Bakori said the incident informed the command’s decision to take precautionary measures over the planned gathering.

“We need to protect them and the residents of the state. That is what happened,” he said.

The commissioner, however, did not present evidence linking the planned meeting to any criminal activity.

He also rejected suggestions that the police action was politically motivated, insisting that the command’s responsibility was to maintain peace and protect residents irrespective of political affiliation.

“There is nothing political about this. It is about understanding the situation and protecting the people of Kano State and Nigeria,” he said.

Bakori added that the police had previously provided security for activities organised by Hikima and other political groups in the state.

He urged the organisers to engage with the command to avoid misunderstandings over security arrangements.

The incident has renewed questions about the balance between the police’s responsibility to maintain public order and citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and expression.

While the police are mandated to protect lives and property, any restriction on peaceful gatherings must have a lawful basis and be proportionate to the security concerns involved.