Terror seizes Kano residents as Yandaba gangs return

For Tajuddeen Kabiru, one of the notorious leaders of local bandits popularly known as Yandaba gangs in Kano state, engaging members of opponent groups in violent fights is a kind of leisure. With a sense of personal fulfillment derived from his violent life, he says “I can beat, stab and even kill any member of […]

For Tajuddeen Kabiru, one of the notorious leaders of local bandits popularly known as Yandaba gangs in Kano state, engaging members of opponent groups in violent fights is a kind of leisure. With a sense of personal fulfillment derived from his violent life, he says “I can beat, stab and even kill any member of a rival gang just to defend my boys.”
Kabiru told Daily Trust on Sunday that once they take charge with drugs and become high, nobody can stand as a barrier between them and their enemies. And the moment they take weapons against opponents anything can happen, they can kill and they can also be killed.
Kabiru,the 23-year old secondary school graduate,  explained that the least damage they can cause to members of  a rival gang in a fight was to inflict severe injuries on them. He says “you know whenever you charge yourself high; you will have no respect  for  anybody no matter who that person is in the society. And once you are in that mood, you can do anything to a fellow human being at  the slightest provocation.”
Babba, as many residents in Zage quarters call  him, said he joined ‘Daba’ or banditry about a decade ago after a combined gang of Yandaba from Kofar Mata and Rimi quarters in the state municipality ,attacked him and snatched his motorbike and other valuables.
“It was around 10pm while I was operating as a commercial cyclist around Kofar Mata area, the gang members armed with local weapons ambushed me. Some hid themselves inside some abandoned vehicles that were parked by the roadside, while one of them disguised as a passenger and stopped me. When I stopped, they all came out from their hideouts and descended on me with knives, cutlasses and other local weapons.
They inflicted serious injuries on me before they carted away my belongings. Because I knew those who attacked me, I decided to join Yandaba gang  in order to carry out my  revenge . I have succeeded in taking revenge on some of them and I am still looking for an opportunity to also inflict injuries on those that I have not met.I will never forgive them,” he vowed.
Hailing  from Zage quarters in Kano municipality, Babba was severally arrested by the police on cases bordering on  the criminal activities of bandits. He is currently in  the custody of police for his alleged involvement in a clash between Zage and Kofar Mata Yandaba gangs ,which led to the death of an innocent person. The incident occurred during the last Sallah festivity.
Iliyasu Musa is also a member of another gang in Yakasai quarters in Municipal local government area of the state. He says he joined the gang due to frustration.
Narrating his story, Musa said “I grew up in a broken home; my parents  separated 15 years ago. And I have been maltreated by my step mom and siblings. Sometimes they don’t give me food ,and nobody cared whether I went to school or not.
After I finished my secondary school, no one among my family members, including my father, cared to support me to advance my education. Therefore, I decided to join a gang of Yandaba so that I can help myself”.
Musa, also known among his colleagues as Babban Yaya, said he has never been arrested by the police or any other law enforcement agency in the name of thuggery ,even though he has actively participated in clashes between gangs on several occasions.
Another member of a gang in Gandun Albasa, Ibrahim Idris, also known as Ba Yawa, said brawls could erupt between two gangs as a result of a minor misunderstanding. For instance, members of two different gangs can engage each other in a fight because of a dog.
“If, for instance ,a member of gang A beats a dog that belongs to a member of group B, then a fight can erupt between the two gangs, and it can lead to deaths  of many people if care is not taken. In a nut shell, fights can  erupt between groups at  the slightest provocation,” he said.
However, unlike Musa and Kabir, Ba yawa had revealed his intention to quit thuggery ‘in the near future’.  “I am planning to go to my parents and inform them about my intention to quit this evil. I was into it against the wishes of my parents. I want to quit so that I can live in peace with them and other members of my community,” he said.
Yandaba are gangs of males mostly between the ages of 19 to 23. Majority of them are school dropouts and most of them also have  a history of arrest and conviction by the police, or other law enforcement agencies like the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Also, a large number of members of Yandaba gangs,if not all of them, are drug addicts and they usually act under the influence of drugs.
Virtually every community in the Kano municipality has one or two gangs of Yandaba. Therefore, members of these gangs are basically residents of the same area who were recruited through street outreach efforts by the gangs  .
Daily Trust on Sunday also gathered that the high rate of misuse of drugs such as cannabis, tobacco, rophynol, codine and alcohol,  appears to be more prominent among members of the Yandaba gangs. And the choice of certain intoxicants or drugs among them could be related to the cost implications, availability and commonality of the substances.
Our reporters also observed that politicians are the major clients of Yandaba gangs especially during election campaigns. Even after elections, they could be seen roaming around the various government ministries, parastatals, agencies and even the government house. Sometimes they follow their masters (politicians) to their respective residences depending on their closeness to a politician.
The sudden resurgence of their evil activities in Kano state has remained a source of concern not only to the affected communities, but also to the security agencies and other stakeholders.
The relative peace being enjoyed in the state metropolis in the last decade, is now under threat as a result of persistent clashes among the various groups of Yandaba in some parts of the state.
The areas worst affected by the nefarious activities of Yandaba, our reporters gathered, include; Filin Idi, Shahuci, Gabari, Kofar Wambai, Dala, Gwale, Kofar Mata, Gandun-Albasa, Kofar-Dan-Agundi, Zango, Zage, Rimi, Yakasai and Dorayi quarters among others.
A spectator, Abudalib Ibrahim, who escaped an attack by the Yandaba group recently, said he was just alighting from a tricycle when he saw people scampering for their safety.
“At first ,we were told that it was a bomb blast, so we rushed back into the tricycle that brought us to the site, trying to escape. In the process, I fell down from the vehicle and had my new Sallah dress torn,” he said.
He added that after reaching a safe place, they were informed that what happened was not a bomb blast but a clash by the Yandaba gangs.
Also lamenting the renewed activities of Yandaba, a resident of Gadon Kaya in Gwale local government area, Fatima Ibrahim said she recently saw one  ‘Yandaba group brandishing their weapons apparently searching for targets, saying “merely looking at the type of weapons they were holding is enough to scare one away from the area.”
She added that in the night, the Yandaba would not allow them have a  comfortable sleep because of attacks and counter attacks.
She said from her window she could smell the Indian hemp emanating  from the young boys sitting with their dogs at midnight when others are sleeping.
Mallam Sule Ibrahim of Gandun-Albasa said: “Government should adopt strategies of tackling the menace before it  becomes  too late to address. We have been enjoying peace in this area for the past nine years, but now the activities of Yandaba are gradually destabilizing the area. Unless government intervenes, things will continue to deteriorate.”
Another resident, Isa Bello, said government alone cannot do it all, therefore the community has to play its own part by exposing the bad elements among them to the authorities concerned, for necessary action.
He therefore advised  members of the public  to always report any suspicious person or group of persons to the appropriate authorities, lamenting that “the problem is that some parents are not willing to hand over their children to the police, even if they (children) were found in active participation in the activities of Yandaba.”
Bello said unless parents and other members of the community play their roles appropriately, the problem cannot be solved ,no matter how willing the police and other security agencies are in tackling the menace in the state.
However, worried by the unfortunate resurgence of the gang in the recent times, police in the state had embarked on special patrol with a view to ridding the state from all sorts of crimes.
Reacting to the development, the police spokesperson, ASP Magaji Musa Majia disclosed that so far hundreds of members of Yandaba gangs have been arrested in the state recently.
Majia said over 200 suspected members of Yandaba gangs were arrested during the last Ramadan period. He decried the increase in the activities of Yandaba in some parts of the state, lamenting that “a total of 100 suspects with large quantity of arms and drugs were arrested in just one week during our special patrol.”
He said so far 88 suspects have been convicted of their various offences and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to one year  ,while 12 others are still awaiting trial. He added that 38 others that were arrested with dangerous weapons will be charged to court as soon as police complete their  investigations.
Three other suspects Ibrahim Mu’azu alias Iro-Dawa, Adamu Abdullahi aka Kura and Muktari Hassan alias Gwari , were nabbed in connection with the murder of a 27 year old student of the Federal University of Education Kano, Bashir Shehu, Majia said.
He disclosed that the police have declared a gang leader, one Abba Bazar-Bazar of Gandun Albasa, and 12 others wanted. The deceased, he said was attacked inside a classroom at Rumfa College Kano whilein a group discussion with friends.
“A combined gang of notorious Yandaba from Gandun-Albasa, Dan-Agundi and Tukuntawa areas invaded the classroom and attacked their victims with cutlasses, knives, clubs and other dangerous weapons. They inflicted various degrees of injuries on Bashir’s head, chest and other parts of his body and he eventually died,” he said.