Nigeria’s former Kano State governor Abdullahi Ganduje has announced plans to create a voluntary security outfit modelled on the state’s controversial Hisbah religious police, aimed at re-employing thousands of personnel dismissed by his successor.
The initiative, to be run under Ganduje’s foundation and named Khairun Nas or Independent Hisbah, would not be a government body but a non-profit organisation open to volunteers beyond the affected workers, he said.
Ganduje, who led Kano State until 2023 and briefly headed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), described the sackings as “unjust” during a meeting on Monday where he received a report verifying the identities of the 12,000 dismissed officers.
The current governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf of the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has clashed with Mr Ganduje since taking office last year, purging many appointments made under his predecessor in a bid to overhaul state institutions.
Sheikh Muhammad Harun Ibn Sina, who served as Hisbah commander-general under Mr Ganduje, is expected to lead the new group.
It would focus on moral guidance, first aid and community support, mirroring Hisbah’s role in enforcing conservative Islamic codes in Kano, Nigeria’s most populous northern state.
Mr Ganduje said the outfit would provide an alternative platform for the sacked staff, many of whom had complained to him about their dismissal. While purely voluntary, it could offer stipends through private donations, according to Mr Ibn Sina.
The announcement comes amid ongoing political tensions in Kano, where Mr Ganduje’s APC lost the governorship to the NNPP in 2023 after a bitter contest.
Hisbah, established in 2003 to promote Sharia compliance, has long been a flashpoint, with critics accusing it of overreach and supporters praising its role in curbing crime and vice.