No, daggers seized by police in Nigeria’s Kano state not for ‘killing Christians’
This article is more than 4 years old
A recent Facebook post claims criminals arrested in Kano state, north-west Nigeria, confessed that thousands of daggers had been distributed across the country for the killing of Christians.
Posted on 14 August 2019 and shared more than 500 times in 24 hours, it includes photos of police officers displaying a large number of sacks filled with red-sheathed daggers.
“Thousands of daggers arrested by the police in Kano,” it reads. “Criminals confessed they have been distributed nationwide. The aim, is to use them in killing Christians in churches and other places. Christians be careful, the Jihad is here.”
But the photos are not recent. They were published on the Kano state police command’s Facebook page on 21 February 2019 in a post outlining the command’s achievements that week.
Wakili Mohammed, the state’s police commissioner, said the police had carried out a series of raids and “recovered large quantity of intoxicants, a pistol and other dangerous locally made weapons”.
One of the achievements listed was that “on 20 February 2019 one Mohammed Sani of Mubi LGA Adamawa state was intercepted at Kwanar Dumawa village, Danbatta LGA ferrying 6,750 units of locally made knives concealed inside bags. He is on transit to Katsina State with the exhibit for an unspecified mission. Investigation is in progress.”
These are the daggers shown in the Facebook post.
Kano state police spokesperson Abdullahi Haruna told Africa Check that the claim that the daggers were distributed across Nigeria for use in attacks on Christians was false.
“That post is not true,” he said. “There is nothing like that. We did not receive any report like that. We do our job professionally here. When we arrest people with weapons, we charge them to court.”
Haruna added: “The public should disregard that post. The daggers were not distributed to kill Christians. Some people make posts like that to cause tension in the country. It is wrong.”
Posted on 14 August 2019 and shared more than 500 times in 24 hours, it includes photos of police officers displaying a large number of sacks filled with red-sheathed daggers.
“Thousands of daggers arrested by the police in Kano,” it reads. “Criminals confessed they have been distributed nationwide. The aim, is to use them in killing Christians in churches and other places. Christians be careful, the Jihad is here.”
Photos from February 2019
But the photos are not recent. They were published on the Kano state police command’s Facebook page on 21 February 2019 in a post outlining the command’s achievements that week.
Wakili Mohammed, the state’s police commissioner, said the police had carried out a series of raids and “recovered large quantity of intoxicants, a pistol and other dangerous locally made weapons”.
One of the achievements listed was that “on 20 February 2019 one Mohammed Sani of Mubi LGA Adamawa state was intercepted at Kwanar Dumawa village, Danbatta LGA ferrying 6,750 units of locally made knives concealed inside bags. He is on transit to Katsina State with the exhibit for an unspecified mission. Investigation is in progress.”
These are the daggers shown in the Facebook post.
‘Cause tension in the country’
Kano state police spokesperson Abdullahi Haruna told Africa Check that the claim that the daggers were distributed across Nigeria for use in attacks on Christians was false.
“That post is not true,” he said. “There is nothing like that. We did not receive any report like that. We do our job professionally here. When we arrest people with weapons, we charge them to court.”
Haruna added: “The public should disregard that post. The daggers were not distributed to kill Christians. Some people make posts like that to cause tension in the country. It is wrong.”
Add new comment