The Department of State Services (DSS) has detained the leaders of the “Struggle for Good Governance” protests held in Katsina State, following demonstrations against perceived poor governance.
Local reports confirm that Kabir Shehu Yandaki and Habibu Ruma, who led the protests in the state capital, were invited to the DSS office in Katsina and subsequently taken into custody. Additionally, Mujittapha Usman, who reportedly spearheaded the protests in Malumfashi Local Government Area, has also been arrested.
According to sources close to the detainees, the DSS contacted Yandaki and Ruma by phone earlier in the day, summoning them to their office for questioning about the previous day’s demonstrations. However, upon their arrival at the DSS headquarters in Katsina, they were detained and remain in custody as of the time of this report.
The protests, initially peaceful, took a violent turn when a disorderly mob, including many minors, gathered in the streets of the state capital, wielding sticks and leaves. The mob chanted “Bamuyi Bamuyi”—a Hausa phrase meaning “We reject”—while destroying public property. Among the incidents reported, a patrol vehicle belonging to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was set ablaze, and the office of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Dutsinma Local Government Area was torched.
In response to the unrest, the Katsina State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew in Dutsinma Local Government Area and a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew across the remaining 34 LGAs of the state.
