Kano — As early as 7am last Tuesday, Muslims all over the state started converging at Umar Ibn Khattah Juma'at Mosque to answer the call by their leaders who summoned them to come out en-mass to join the peaceful demonstration against the killings of Muslims in Yelwa Shandem in Plateau State; where hundreds of Muslims were said to have been murdered. And at about 8a.m. the mosque could no longer contain the huge crowd that honoured the call.

The crowd became difficult for even the Hisba (Sharia enforcers) to control, and at about 10 am when the organizers of the demonstration arrived, they addressed them and later marched to the state Government House chanting (Allahu Akbar) meaning God is great.

On seeing the crowd, the security men at the Government House opened wide the gate to allow them into the premises because they were being led by top Islamic scholars in the state. It was obvious that sight of the large crowd of Muslims send some signals to the state security operatives who immediately sent out their officers to monitor their movement.The thousands of protesters were also carrying placards with different inscriptions condemning the killing in Yelwa Shandem, the role of President George Bush in Iraq and Israeli leaders over Palestine. At the Government House, various Islamic scholars addressed the crowd and expressed their displeasure using harsh words about the happenings in Plateau State.

The leader of the demonstrators who incidentally is the Sharia commission chairman, Sheik Ibrahim Umar Kabo who spoke last, told Governor Ibrahim Shekarau that they had written several letters to Obasanjo asking him to take appropriate action on the situation in Yelwa Shandem, and that nothing had been done to stop the killings of Moslems. He then gave the federal government seven days ultimatum to address the situation or they will be compelled to fight to protect their religion themselves.

The demonstrators were obviously happy with their leaders and hailed them. Governor Shekarau who appeared not too comfortable with the speeches by the Islamic scholars because of the reaction of the crowd, in his address, also condemned the killings at Yelwa Shandem and promised to take their complaints to all the relevant authorities for appropriate action. Shekarau noted that whenever Muslims are being humiliated even in the past during the time Prophet Mohammed, religious leaders and traditional rulers were always at the fore front, preaching peace and tolerance and urged the crowd of Muslim faithful to exercise peace and listen to their leaders instruction only.

He also advised them to emulate Prophet Mohammed especially how he protected non Muslims who were living with them. Within less than two hours of dispersing from the Government House, the peaceful demonstration was said to have been hijacked by hoodlums in some parts of the state. The hoodlums allegedly had a list of those they wanted to attack in selected areas, and went straight for their targets mercilessly using machetes and cutlass on them, wounding and killing them as they came across them.

According to victims of the riot interviewed by Sunday Vanguard at various refugee camps, the alleged mobsters who perpetuated the acts were not interested in stealing their properties, they went straight to the houses of their targets, brought out their belongings, set them on fire either inside or outside the compounds and then set the buildings on fire to make sure nothing is left for them to salvage. And the unlucky ones were simply killed with different local weapons they were carrying. One of the victims who sustained multiple knife cuts all over his body managed to escape through the assistance of a sympathetic Moslem who took him away on his motor bike.

According to him, when the angry hoodlums saw him they simply shouted (ga nama, ga nama) meaning here is meat, here is meat, and they descended on him with their knives and cutlasses until he was miraculously rescued from their hands. The rioters invaded Challawa industrial areas, Sharada industrial estates, Zoo Road, Shagari quarters and attacked the areas where some churches were built and torched all the buildings in the area. The mob also visited Gyadi-gyadi court road where they attacked the Eze Ndi Igbo palace, he too managed to escape unhurt. The mob soon moved to Kabuga quarters, Dorayi, Rijiyar Zaki near Bayero Univeristy Kano.

Students were trapped in the university, as hoodlums made attempt to invade the university's new campus site at Gwarzo road. Even students of Federal College of Education were not spared. Miss Ngozi one of the students who were taken to police barrack refugee camp told Sunday Vanguard that the hoodlums forced themselves into the school premises through the boys hostel and headed straight to the girls hostels, but were stopped from getting to them by the boys. She said they managed to chase them away that night, but that they started re-grouping the next morning.

According to her, they had to call for assistance from the police to evacuate them from their school.With the calibre of people at the various refugee camps visited by Sunday Vanguard, it is obvious that the alleged hoodlums actually went for their targets: People from Plateau State and other non-Muslims who were residing in the Muslim dominated areas.

Over 80 percent of victims are northerners and some southern Muslims residing in the areas were victims too. "The said hoodlums did not care to know whether we were Muslims or not, all they were after was to eliminate all non-indigenes in the areas," one of the victims told Sunday Vanguard in tears. Many houses were set ablaze and razed outright, but there is not yet official figure of the number of houses that were burnt and the number of vehicles destroyed and burnt by the rioters.

A conservative estimate put the number of such vehicles at 30. Mr Erugo, an Igbo man lost his two vehicles to the rioters, a Mercedes Benz and a family Toyota Hiace bus were burnt to ashes in front of his residence at Sharada quarters. Mr Apkowomarie, a Delta man also lost all his properties and his vehicle to the rioters, his car was set ablaze. A tailor Mr. Hassan Bello also lost his car to the rioters at Shagari quarters in his younger brother's house who is a motor mechanic, whose house was equally burnt.

The burnt cars and houses are indeed a sad story of the unfortunate riot that has paralysed business activities in the state for over four days.

The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Mohammadu Abubakar Maccido who visited the state to commiserate with the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau and the entire people of the state especially the victims of the riot, on his way back from Italy, condemned the mayhem and called on Nigerians to learn to live in peace with each other. The Sarkin Musulmi noted that the constitution gives every Nigerian the right to live freely and do business in any part of the country and practice his religion and culture as well as do any kind of business he may want to do without being molested.

He called on Muslims to learn to be tolerant with their neighbours, adding that crisis will not help the economy of the nation nor will it allow peace to reign in the nation. In his reaction on the crisis, the president general of Igbo community in Kano, Chief Boniface Ibekwe, in an exclusive interview, described the mayhem as deadly because of the way the attackers moved against their targets, adding that the Eze Ndi Igbo was attacked in the early hours of Wednesday. They burnt down his palace, how he managed to escape with his family still remains a miracle", he said.

Ibekwe stated that he had told the state governor to stop the killings or give the non-indigenes six-month to leave if they were no longer wanted in the state. "I told him this because every time there is a riot in Kano, Igbos are always the targets of the rioters. Yet we invest all we have to develop the state and all we the Igbos get as thank you is the destruction of what we worked for all our lives and left alone to mourn our slain brothers and sisters".

The Igbo president general also blamed the state government for the escalation of the crisis. He noted that if the governor was obviously aware of the demonstration, he should have made adequate security arrangement to stop the mayhem, knowing how volatile Kano state is when it comes to religious demonstration. It is on record that most of the riots in Kano started from similar religious demonstrations.

Ibekwe said they were yet to determine the number of deaths of their people and the total death records of non indigenes arising from the mayhem. But he said the figures would be above the 30 police gave, adding that many remained in critical conditions in hospital.

Commenting on the law banning the consumption of alcohol, Ibekwe said it was unacceptable because consumption of alcohol is part of the culture of southerners." I married my wife with alcohol, and so it is in many southern states, if Kano State is saying that non-Muslims should not drink or sell alcohol in the state, it is unfair," the Igbo leader said. At the briefing by Shekarau at Government House Wednesday, Ibekwe, while responding on behalf of the community leaders in the state, told the governor that if non-indigenes will not consume alcohol in Kano then the Hausa will equally not drink fura da nono in the east.

Police Commissioner Alhaji Ganiyu Dawudu, who confirmed to journalists that they had official figure of 30 dead, 40 wounded and 45 arrest of suspected perpetrators of the riot, said they had sent all their officers out to control the crisis in the troubled areas. He also denied the allegation that the police were shooting at innocent people, and said all the deaths recorded so far, apart from a young that was hit by a stray bullet, resulted from multiple injuries sustained from injuries from weapons used by the rioters. On the number of houses burnt, he said the police were yet to get the authentic figure.

Alhaji Dawudu however assured that the police and other security operatives will remain on the streets of the state until calm returned. Despite the several appeals by the state government for people of the state to return to their normal businesses, the people as at the weekend refused to do so because they were apprehensive of the unknown. Commercial activities remained paralysed in the metropolitan areas. The old commercial city was deserted.

The main market in the state remained close and guarded by security men as owners of the shops were not ready to open them for business because of possible reactions after the Friday Juma"at prayers last Friday.

At the refugees' camps, victims were stranded, as most of them had been rendered homeless. With their entire belonging completely burnt by the rioters, and having nothing left to even feed themselves at the camps, many of them appealed to the federal government to come to their aid, so that they could at least go back to their home towns.