Headlines
How renewed KAROTA fury hurts Kano road users
By Mukhtar Yahya Usman
On 8 September, 2019, just like any ordinary day, Yusuf Baba had left his pregnant wife and five children at home.
As he rode on his motorcycle on his way to the Kano Sports Commission along Club Road in Nasarawa local government area of Kano state, where he served as a weightlifting coach, it never crossed his mind that it was his last day on earth.
Mr Baba was just a few meters to his destination when, without warning, a dark blue Volkswagen saloon car, swerved to his side of the road on top speed and crushed him to death.
An eyewitness told Kano Focus that the commercial vehicle, with registration number KTG 174 AA, had the accident due to a nasty struggle for control of its steering wheel between its driver and a personnel of the Kano Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA), who was determined to stop the driver from fleeing.
This was how Mr Baba’s wife, Zainab was widowed and his five children orphaned in one of the several reckless confrontations between overzealous KAROTA officers and road users that often disregard traffic rules.
It was one death too many for the family as Mr Baba left behind a mentally disabled son, Umar, who relied totally on his father for his monthly follow up at a psychiatric hospital in Kano, where he receives expensive medications.
In addition, Zainab’s unborn child has also been deprived of its father.
Both the KAROTA officer and the driver of the Golf car were subsequently arrested and detained by the Kano Police Command.
About a week earlier, some KAROTA officials had also flagged down a trailer truck at Ibrahim Taiwo Road by Bello Road roundabout and attempted to arrest the driver on a charge of unlawfully using additional headlamps.
It was learnt that the KAROTA personnel ordered the driver, Kabiru Muhammad to park but before he could comply, one of them reportedly requested to drive the truck, a demand the driver refused.
Truck driver Kabiru Muhammad covered in blood
Without warning, the angry traffic official insulted Mr Muhammad just as another hit him on the head with a stick, causing him a serious injury from which blood gushed out and covered his face and clothing.
In protest at the maltreatment of their colleague, other truck drivers turned off their engines in the middle of the road, causing a massive traffic gridlock that was only cleared after the arrival of police operatives who arrested the errant KAROTA officials.
Truck drivers protest the assault on their colleague Kabiru Muhamma by KAROTA
On August 15, 2019, a magistrate court sentenced a KAROTA official to jail after he was found guilty of hitting one Hassan Zamzam with a stick in the leg and inflicting a fracture on him.
The victim was attacked by the angry KAROTA officer for allegedly beating traffic.
Kano Focus reports that the air waves in Kano are replete with complaints on excesses of KAROTA officers on the roads, especially their act of carrying sticks which they routinely use to smash heads and windshields of motorists, tricycle riders and other vehicle owners who dared to cross paths with them.
The renewed vigour of KAROTA officials in assaulting motorists manifested since the appointment of the agency’s new Managing Director, Bappa Babba DanAgundi, a former lawmaker at the Kano state House of Assembly, who failed in his re-election bid during the 2019 general elections.
It was under Mr DanAgundi’s leadership that KAROTA operatives started using sticks that are painted in the yellow and black colours of the agency to assault motorists and other road users who violate traffic rules.
Commercial drivers often complain of being extorted and forced to pay exorbitant fines, which are higher than those charged by any of the federal agencies that supervise road safety.
A KAROTA personnel trying to arrest a truck driver
As a result, many commercial motorists have stopped transporting traders to Kano, causing a sharp decline in commerce and trade, a situation that threatens the economic prosperity of the state.
Since it was established in 2014 by former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, KAROTA has been a fiery traffic outfit that attracts anger and hatred due to its persistent clashes with motorists in the course of enforcing traffic rules.
Even though it has succeeded in restoring sanity and instilling discipline in Kano’s erstwhile lawless motorists, recently, the agency has been accused of contradicting its own motto: “Sanity and Safety” by chasing moving vehicles to the point of causing accidents and in some cases leading to serious injuries or outright loss of lives.
Observers have also pointed out that while KAROTA is harsh on poor and weak road users especially commercial vehicle owners who are struggling to make ends meet, they often fail to punish powerful politicians and security agencies who move in convoys and break traffic rules with impunity.
“This leaves us with no option that to believe that the rules are meant to punish only the weak and the poor and also serve as a means of extorting and further impoverishing them, while allowing the rich and powerful to do as they please,” a driver Garba Adamu told our correspondent.
“The government should overhaul KAROTA in order to make them more humane in their operations,” he added.
However, in his reaction, the KAROTA Managing director Bappa Babban Danagundi has explained why personnel of the agency carry sticks on the roads while controlling traffic in Kano city.
Dan-Agundi said KAROTA officers are using sticks to protect themselves from attacks by angry motorists and other road users who are not happy with how the traffic officials conduct their duty.
He said many KAROTA personnel have been attacked by errant motorists, adding that some of them are still in hospital with fractures and other serious injuries.
Although Dr. Dan-Agundi admitted that using weapons is against the laws of KAROTA, he however, pointed that the Nigerian Constitution has given citizens the right to defend themselves from harm including government officials.
He also said that apart from restoring sanity on Kano roads, KAROTA officials have been commended by security agencies for arresting a fake soldier and handing him over to the appropriate authority for prosecution.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Dr Goni Faruk Umar has urged Muslims to embrace Taqwa in their daily lives, describing it as a foundation of Islam and a key to righteous conduct and success in this world and the hereafter.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Islamic scholar made the call while delivering a Juma’a sermon at the New Juma’a Mosque, Rumfa College, Kano.
In the sermon, Dr Goni Faruk Umar explained the meaning of Taqwa using classical Islamic scholarship, including an account involving Umar ibn al-Khattab and the companion Ubayy ibn Ka’b to illustrate the concept.
According to the account cited in the sermon, Sayyadina Ubayy once asked Khalifa Umar bin Khattab whether he had ever walked along a thorny path. When Khalifa Umar bin Khattab answered in the affirmative, Sayyadina Ubayy asked how he navigated it. Khalifa Umar bin Khattab replied that he gathered his clothes and proceeded cautiously to avoid being pricked.
Sayyadina Ubayy then explained that this was the essence of Taqwa: being constantly mindful of one’s actions and carefully avoiding what displeases Allah.
Dr Goni Faruk Umar said Taqwa should not be limited to acts of worship but should also guide Muslims’ conduct in contemporary society, particularly in their use of digital platforms and social media, control of the tongue, and relationships within the family.
He urged worshippers to exercise restraint in their speech, act responsibly online and uphold their obligations to family members in accordance with Islamic teachings.
The cleric also highlighted the spiritual and worldly benefits of Taqwa, including relief from hardship, ease in personal affairs, forgiveness of sins and increased rewards in the hereafter.
Quoting verses from the Qur’an, he cited Allah’s promise in Surah At-Talaq, verses 2 and 3, that whoever fears Him will be granted a way out of difficulties and provided for from sources they could not have anticipated.
He also referred to Qur’an 65:4–5, which promises ease in affairs, the removal of sins and the multiplication of rewards for those who maintain Taqwa.
The scholar reminded Muslims that worldly life is temporary and that the hereafter is their permanent destination. He therefore urged them to regard Taqwa as the best provision for the journey beyond this life.
Citing Qur’an 2:197, he emphasised that the best provision for the hereafter is Taqwa, urging believers to remain conscious of their responsibilities to Allah.
The sermon also featured prayers and salutations upon Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family and companions, in accordance with the Qur’anic instruction in Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 56.
Dr Goni Faruk Umar concluded by encouraging Muslims to remain steadfast in faith, follow the guidance of the Prophet and make righteousness a guiding principle in their daily lives.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Political allies and loyalists of former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Arc Aminu Dabo, have begun resigning from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State following his withdrawal from the ruling party.
KANO FOCUS reports that the supporters, operating under the political group Dabo Alheri Ne, reportedly include members across Kano State’s 44 local government areas.
Barely two days after Dabo announced his resignation from the APC, a prominent stakeholder of the group, Garba Zakiru Dambatta, said members had welcomed the decision and were showing solidarity by submitting their resignation letters to their respective ward party chairmen.
Dambatta, a former APC chairman in Dambatta Local Government Area, said the group’s members were disappointed with what they described as the prolonged marginalisation of Mr Dabo and his supporters within the party.
According to him, despite Mr Dabo’s contributions to the APC and efforts to strengthen the party and manage disagreements among its members, some key stakeholders had continued to sideline him and his loyalists in party activities.
Dambatta reaffirmed the group’s commitment to standing by Mr Dabo’s political decisions and supporting his future political journey.
He also urged the former NPA managing director not to succumb to political pressure or reverse his decision to leave the party.
“This step you have taken, we have the conviction that it is the beginning of a new chapter of goodness in your life,” Dambatta said.
Among the prominent members of the group identified as supporting Mr Dabo’s decision are Abba Rabee’u, a former Senior Special Assistant on Political Awareness; Almustapha Jilani Danmalam, a former Senior Special Assistant on Education; Jamilu Abdullahi Zangon-Mata, a former Senior Special Assistant on Entrepreneurship; and Fahd A. Dabo, a former Special Assistant on Youth Mobilisation.
The individuals reportedly served during the second term of former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The group also said several other party loyalists and supporters were backing Dabo following his resignation.
However, the statement did not provide the number of members who had formally resigned from the APC or indicate whether the party leadership had responded to the development.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Five players of Kano Pillars Amputee Football Club have been invited to the national camp of Nigeria’s Special Super Eagles ahead of the 2026 Amputee Football World Cup in Mexico.
KANO FOCUS reports that invited players are Isah Yusuf, Abba Musa, Habu Friday, Emanuel Betel and Usman Ahmed. They are currently in Abuja with the national team as preparations intensify for the global tournament.
The Team Manager of Kano Pillars Amputee Football Team, Jamilu Uba Adamu, disclosed this in an interview with Ashiru Rabiu Gidan Tudu, Information Officer of the Kano State Sports Commission.
Adamu described the invitation as recognition of the players’ dedication, discipline and outstanding performances.
He expressed confidence that the players would represent Kano State and Nigeria with honour at the championship.
According to him, the call-up also demonstrates Kano Pillars’ commitment to nurturing talented amputee footballers and contributing to the development of the sport in Nigeria.
The 2026 Amputee Football World Cup is scheduled to take place from November 13 to 22 in San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico. A total of 24 countries, including seven African nations, are expected to participate.
The Executive Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, Muhammad Tukur Babangida, congratulated the five players on their invitation, describing it as well deserved.
Babangida expressed confidence that they would justify the confidence reposed in them by the national team selectors.
He assured the players of the commission’s continued support and urged them to remain focused, disciplined and committed to making Kano State and Nigeria proud on the international stage.
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