The Kano State Government has formally outlawed a group operating under the name Independent Hisbah Fisabilillahi, declaring its activities illegal and a threat to public order.
Governor Abba Yusuf signed an executive order proscribing the group on December 8, following intelligence reports that its operations violated existing state laws regulating religious enforcement bodies. According to the government, the group was allegedly recruiting, training and mobilising youths without legal authority, contrary to the Kano State Hisbah Board Law.
Addressing journalists, the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, said the Kano State Hisbah Board remains the only institution legally empowered to coordinate Hisbah-related activities in the state. He warned that the existence of any parallel structure posed serious security risks.
“The emergence of a parallel group amounts to creating an unauthorised enforcement structure capable of undermining public peace and the statutory mandate of the Board,” Waiya said.
He explained that the executive order renders all activities of the group invalid, stressing that impersonation of the Hisbah Board through uniforms, symbols or authority would attract sanctions. According to him, the order declares the group’s activities “unlawful, illegal and void”.
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Waiya added that Governor Yusuf has directed security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and others, to investigate those behind the group and take lawful steps to prevent any breakdown of public order.
He cautioned residents against participating in or supporting the banned organisation, noting that affiliation with it violates state law. Individuals already recruited were urged to disengage immediately and report to the nearest security agency, Hisbah office or local government authority.
The commissioner further disclosed that the executive order outlines penalties for offenders, including prosecution for unlawful assembly, impersonation and the establishment of unauthorised security formations. The order takes immediate effect and will be gazetted by the state government printer.
The development follows heightened tensions in Kano over alleged plans to establish parallel religious policing structures. On November 28, the state government called for the arrest of former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje over remarks it described as “capable of undermining” the state’s security efforts.
After a state executive council meeting, Waiya said cabinet members discussed statements attributed to Ganduje and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin concerning Kano’s vulnerability to banditry and a proposal to recruit 12,000 individuals under a religious policing outfit known as Khairul Nas.
“The council deliberated extensively over the recent inflammatory statements made by a former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the deputy senate president Barau Jibrin, who alleged that the state is vulnerable to banditry and further announced plans to recruit 12,000 individuals under a proposed religious police outfit named Khairul Nas,” the commissioner said.
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Civil society organisations also weighed in, with the International Peace and Secure Society (IPSS) expressing concern over reports of attempts to establish a Hisbah-style body outside state control. The group described claims linking Ganduje to such efforts as “troubling and unacceptable”.
Ganduje, however, dismissed the allegations, describing the call for his arrest as “baseless” and “reckless”. The former APC national chairman said he had never been associated with violence or any act capable of undermining peace in Kano State.
He further accused the state government of “desperation” and “incompetence”, adding that the remarks attributed to the administration amounted to “an abdication of responsibility by a leader who has failed to secure the lives and property of citizens.”