Armed phone thieves wreak havoc in Kano

As drug abuse worsens and economic hardship deepens, Kano’s once-bustling neighborhoods now live under the shadow of urban terror.

Phone snatching, once a petty theft, has evolved into a violent scourge that leaves residents bruised, bleeding, and fearful. Survivors recount their ordeals, while authorities insist they are confronting the crisis head-on.

Terror on Kano streets: knife-wielding drug addicts on the prowl

From Hotoro to Unguwa-Uku, Kano’s night-time streets have turned dangerous. Gangs of young men, high on drugs and armed with knives and machetes, roam the city’s corners — attacking pedestrians, commuters, and traders returning home.

The fear is palpable. Many residents avoid using their phones outdoors or when travelling after dusk. Parents warn their children to stay indoors. Yet, amid the fear, there is resilience — and a deep yearning for action.

I thought I would die — Survivor’s ordeal

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For Inuwa Adamu, a 36-year-old mechanic from Hotoro, a normal day’s work ended in horror.

“I had just closed from work and was heading home on my motorcycle,” he recalled. “Before I knew it, about 25 young men rushed out from different corners holding knives and cutlasses. They surrounded us instantly. It was like a military ambush.”

The attack occurred around Mariri quarters, near Larabar Mata Market. Adamu said the gang struck everyone within sight — riders, traders, pedestrians.

“They didn’t care who you were. One of them stabbed me in the head. I fell and started bleeding. People were shouting, but no one could come close. I thought I would die there,” he told Arewa PUNCH.

When he regained consciousness, his motorcycle, phone, and wallet were gone. “They took everything. I managed to crawl to the roadside before people rushed me to a clinic,” he added.

“Even now, I still feel dizzy when I remember that night.”

Adamu disclosed that several others were also attacked. “They beat an elderly man and dragged a woman’s handbag. It was total fear and confusion. People were crying and bleeding everywhere.”

For residents of Mariri, it is a familiar sight of horror. Many fear that if urgent action is not taken, the metropolis could descend into chaos.

“If the government doesn’t act fast, every corner of this city will become a place of fear,” Adamu warned.

They stabbed me and threw me out of a moving tricycle – victim

In another attack, Muhammad Musa, a resident of Unguwa-Uku in Tarauni Local Government Area of the state, was stabbed and robbed near his home.

The 29-year-old trader said the incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. near the Juma’at Mosque when a group of men pretending to ask for directions lured him into a tricycle.

“They told me they were looking for a place and asked me to show them,” he said.

“Once I entered, one of them brought out a knife and stabbed me in the hand.”

According to him, the attackers beat him repeatedly before throwing him out of the moving tricycle and escaping with his phone and money.

“I spent four days in the hospital,” Musa recounted. “I also lost my phone, cash, and business documents. I’m grateful I survived, but these criminals are becoming bolder by the day. The government needs to do something about this menace and act decisively.”

Communities cry out: We’re losing control of our children

Arewa PUNCH gathered that as a result of this heinous act being perpetrated daily by these criminals and hoodlums in gangster style, more and more parents and community leaders have continued to cry out over the loss of their children and wards to the recruitment module of the various gangs whose ranks keep swelling in numbers.

Parents have lost control of their children – Community leader

Not a few community leaders admitted to our correspondent that the rising attacks stem from a breakdown in family discipline and moral guidance.

Alhaji Ibrahim Sale, a respected elder in Unguwa-Uku, told Arewa PUNCH that the menace is threatening social order and weakening community trust.

“Every evening, residents are scared to send their children on errands or even answer phone calls outside,” he said.

“These boys move in groups. They are high on drugs and attack without fear of being caught.