The Kano state police command has lifted the 24-hour curfew it imposed on the state on Wednesday when the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigerian People Party (NNPP) and declared All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Yusuf Gawuna as the winner.
The police swiftly imposed a 24-hour curfew in the state to stop the tension that the judgment was causing from escalating.
But yesterday evening, the command’s spokesperson, SP Haruna Abdullahi Kiyawa, in a WhatsApp group for journalists and police public relations, said the curfew had been lifted.
He said, “The curfew is lifted, according to the state government”.
The apprehension that led to the imposition of a 24-hour curfew in Kano on Wednesday evening has led to the shutdown of economic and social activities as people in all nooks and crannies remain indoors in compliance with the stay-at-home order of the government.
Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles were seen parked on the entrance roads to Kano and Zaria Road as of Wednesday. However, by daybreak, the vehicles were allowed to move in and out of the town to disperse the hold-up.
Yesterday, the usually busy routes like Zaria Road, Murtala Mohammed Way, and Ibrahim Taiwo Road, where the popular Kantin Kwari market is located, remained deserted, with only a few vehicles seen plying the roads.
The ever-busy phone market called Farm Centre Market and all the restaurants around the area were closed down, and only the guards on duty were sighted.
Banks, schools, petrol stations, pharmacies, and other business places are all closed down as people are seen seated in neighbourhoods interacting. Security agents were also positioned in strategic places across the city centre. Security agents have diverted traffic on some of the dual carriage roads into single lanes.
