Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Armed bandits stormed a quiet farming community on Friday evening, killing two residents and triggering a wave of anger that by Sunday had erupted into a violent protest in which dozens of young men set the local government secretariat on fire and blocked a major interstate highway for hours. Youths in Gwarzo, a border local government area in Kano State, took to the streets on Sunday, May 17, 2026, to vent months of accumulated frustration over what they described as the government’s failure to protect them from successive bandit attacks. The protest turned violent after demonstrators stormed the local government secretariat, vandalised property and set the chairman’s office ablaze, according to multiple eyewitnesses and media reports. The protesters also blocked the Kano‑Gwarzo‑Dayi road for several hours, halting vehicular movement along a strategic corridor linking Kano and Katsina states.
The protest was fuelled by a bandit raid that occurred just two days earlier. On Friday, May 15, 2026, a large gang of armed men on more than 30 motorcycles stormed Lakwaya village in Gwarzo LGA, attacking the community of Unguwar Mahauta in the late afternoon. They opened fire indiscriminately, killing at least two residents and injuring several others before making off with a large number of cattle. The attackers also struck the nearby settlement of Gidan Biris, where a second victim was killed. A video recording of the scene, later posted online by residents, showed bodies lying on the ground and distraught relatives wailing. The Friday raid was not an isolated incident. Residents said their communities had been subjected to repeated attacks, including killings, kidnappings and cattle rustling, often by criminals believed to cross into Kano from neighbouring Katsina State.
On Sunday morning, hundreds of youths marched through major streets in Gwarzo town, initially in a peaceful demonstration. They chanted slogans and demanded urgent government action to address the worsening security crisis. By early afternoon, the protest had escalated significantly. Some demonstrators forced their way into the local government secretariat, where they vandalised property and set the chairman’s office on fire, sending thick smoke into the air and causing panic among residents and passers‑by. Simultaneously, another group of protesters erected makeshift barricades along the Dayi‑Gwarzo corridor, a vital transit route between Kano and Katsina states. They chanted slogans, warned travellers to turn back and declared that the highway would remain shut until concrete security guarantees were made. The blockade left hundreds of commuters stranded for hours.
Tragically, the protest itself claimed at least one life. A resident, Zayyanu Rabiu, told Daily Trust that a person was suspected to have died from the effects of teargas and smoke from burning tyres. Another witness said the protesters, who had started their march from Kwanar Lakwaya, began pelting police vehicles with stones, prompting officers to fire teargas canisters. The police later retreated, and the protesters continued, eventually invading the secretariat.
Speaking at the protest scene, an aggrieved youth leader told Premium Times that the community had been left with no choice but to take drastic action. “Yesterday alone, they came and killed three of our people,” the youth leader said. “For the past week, these criminals have been attacking us regularly, invading our towns in broad daylight. They ride into our neighbourhoods on motorcycles, act with complete impunity, and steal our livestock in large numbers.” Another resident expressed deep frustration with the security response. “A thief will come to your doorstep at four in the afternoon to steal cattle, and when you call the authorities, nobody shows up until 8:00 p.m.,” the resident said. “Where is the promise of 24‑hour security? We can no longer go to our farms, we cannot protect our primary schools, and we are being starved in our own communities. Protesting is our only way to make the government understand the severity of our situation.” Local leaders warned that the highway blockade would continue until permanent military checkpoints were established to protect border communities from banditry and kidnapping. “People are exhausted and scared. The attacks keep happening, and nothing seems to change,” one resident said.
As of Sunday evening, the Kano State Police Command had not issued an official statement on either the protest or the Friday attack. The police spokesperson, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, did not respond to multiple calls and text messages. The state government also remained silent, though security operatives were later deployed across Gwarzo to restore normalcy. Efforts to restore order eventually succeeded. The blocked road was reopened to motorists, and calm was gradually restored after additional security personnel were deployed from Kano.
Gwarzo is one of several border local government areas in Kano that have witnessed repeated bandit attacks, resulting in killings, kidnappings and cattle rustling. The violence has forced many farmers to abandon their fields and families to stay indoors after dark. The Friday attack on Lakwaya village was the second deadly incident within a week, following an earlier bandit raid on Yankamaye community in the neighbouring Tsanyawa LGA that also claimed multiple lives. As the dust settles on Sunday’s protest, the underlying security crisis remains unresolved. The charred remains of the local government chairman’s office stand as a stark symbol of a community pushed to the edge. For the people of Gwarzo, the question is no longer whether the government will act, but whether any action will come before the next raid, and the next funeral.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments