The Kano State Police Command has debunked reports of alleged killing of Igbo travelers in the aftermath of the lynching of northern hunters in Edo State by a mob who mistook them for kidnappers.
Earlier on Saturday, a post shared on social media had gone viral with claims that an 18-seater bus carrying passengers from the South-east was ambushed and set ablaze in Kano by a violent mob in a reprisal attack.
The post which was shared widely, had claimed that the attack which left no survivor, was carried out in retaliation for the killing of the Northern travellers by youths in Edo State.
The post which was accompanied by three images of a burnt vehicle, also alleged that panic has spread across the Igbo community in Kano, with Fulani men going on a rampage through the city and attacking anyone of Igbo descent.
“BREAKING: An 18-seater bus carrying Igbo passengers was set on fire in Kano. Panic has spread across the Igbo community in the state as Fulani men go on a rampage, attacking and killing any Igbo they come across in retaliation for the k!filling carried out by Edo hunters,” the alarming post had said.
“Tragically, 18 Igbos lost their lives this morning while traveling back to the East. A violent Fulani mob ambushed their bus, set it ablaze, and left no survivors,” it added.
But while debunking the post in a statement late Saturday, the State Police spokesman, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, urged Nigerians to disregard the viral post as nothing of such happened in the state.
Describing the post as fake news, false and misleading, Kiyawa said the police was on the trail of the originators of the post with a view to bringing them to justice.
The statement urged members of the public to “disregard this fake news and refrain from spreading unverified information, misinformation, and hate speeches that can cause harm, panic, and unrest in the community”.
“The Kano State Police Command is committed to maintaining law and order in the state and ensuring the safety and security of all residents, regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds,” the police spokesman said.
“We have commenced an investigation into the source of this fake news and will take necessary actions to bring those responsible to justice.
“We appeal to the public to cooperate with the police and report any suspicious activities or individuals spreading false information to the nearest police station or through our emergency numbers.
“Let us work together to maintain peace, harmony, and security in Kano State,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, a fact-check on the background of the shared post revealed that no such incident happened in Kano nor anywhere in the north.
The fact-check revealed that the images of the burnt 18-seater bus used in the post was from an accident on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway which occured in September 2023, and was used by unscrupulous people with the deliberate aim of spreading hatred and inciting ethnic and religious violence in the North West.
