The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has attributed the recent killing of a woman and her six children in Kano to the growing menace of drug abuse, calling for urgent community action to curb the trend.
The victims, identified as Fatima Abubakar and her six children, were brutally murdered at their residence in Dorayi Chiranchi quarters of Kano metropolis last week.
Speaking at a joint press briefing in Kano on Sunday, the Kano State Chairman of the ACF, Dr. Goni Faruk Umar, said such a heinous act could not have been carried out without the influence of illicit drugs.
“Once you see somebody slaughtering children like this, he must be under the influence of drugs or be part of a cult organisation,” Dr. Umar said.
The briefing was organised by the ACF in collaboration with Muryar Matan Arewa (Voice of Northern Women) and the League for Societal Protection Against Drug Abuse (LESPADA).
Dr. Umar lamented the apparent absence of community intervention during the attack, stressing the need to revive community policing initiatives.
“Every community should consider policing its area. We will establish a committee that will bring together traditional, religious and community leaders to form a strong force vigilant over movements in their respective areas,” he said.
He also called on the government to regulate the sale of arms, ensure proper documentation of buyers and introduce the capture of residents’ thumbprints to aid the identification of criminals. Dr. Faruk further disclosed that the ACF, through Awkat funded by AARNU, would before the end of June provide interest-free loans of ₦100,000 each to 1,000 youths to empower them and reduce their vulnerability to crime.
The ACF chairman commended the Kano State Government and security agencies, particularly the police and the Department of State Services (DSS), for the swift arrest of the suspects involved in the killings.
In her remarks, the Executive Director of Muryar Matan Arewa, Binta Mukhtar Shata, said the meeting was convened to enable mothers to collectively seek lasting solutions to the growing insecurity affecting families.
“Societal values have changed. Mothers are now afraid of their children. We want justice for the perpetrators and we want them punished,” she said, adding that the group would henceforth hold such engagements annually to strengthen family values.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of LESPADA, Maryam Hassan, said the incident had shaken residents within and outside Kano State.
“Government is trying, but it cannot do it alone. Communities must step in, especially in tackling drug abuse, because no sane person will kill another without the influence of drugs,” she said, linking thuggery, phone snatching and violent crimes to substance abuse.
The organisations jointly called for sustained collaboration between government, communities and civil society groups to address drug abuse and restore safety and moral values in society.
