Kano residents prefer Hisbah to police, says Shekarau

Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano, says residents of the state rely on the Hisbah board more than the police.

Shekarau said this in an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday.

He stressed the need for community policing as a means to addressing insecurity in the country.

“Security is the business of every citizen, and that is why the issue of community policing as far as I’m concerned, is the key,” he said.

“Within the first one or two years when we introduced the community policing through the Hisbah boards, we virtually eliminated 90 percent of the vices in the society and we have peace. I believe this is part of what Kano is still enjoying.

“I think the earlier we understood this idea of community policing, the better for all of us and the government has to be directly involved.

“Ask anybody on the streets of Kano today, people would prefer to go to the offices of the Hisbah board to report their cases or any incident within the society far more than going to the police divisional offices or even to the court.”

The former governor also noted that in addressing insecurity, the reasons and root cause of attacks by bandits need to be figured out.

“As a guidance counselor, I believe every act has a reason. We need to go back to the roots to find out the causes and reasons. It’s not just about using force, arresting and prosecuting these bandits and Boko haram. We need to have more of intelligence reporting,” he said.