One of the residences of former Chief Security Officer to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al Mustapha (rtd), located at Durbin Katsina, Kano, was weekend raided by armed men suspected to be soldiers.
According to reports, the men who were armed to the teeth came in trucks and tanks, allegedly cordoning several streets leading to the house before seizing the occupants who were mostly women and children in an operation that lasted an hour.
Some witnesses told The Sun that the suspected soldiers came in trucks and tanks and, immediately they gained entrance into the building, ordered everyone around to lie flat on ground and, at gunpoint, conducted a thorough search of the building.
“One Abubakar, reportedly a cousin to Major Al-Mustapha, was maltreated by the troops. He is recuperating at a private hospital, a witness recounted.
Also, wife of Al Mustapha’s brother, Hadi was also reported to have been forced to conduct the soldiers round the building.
“The invading forces were not friendly, not even the children were spared as the house was ransacked inside out all in the name of searching for an imaginary cache of arms,” The Sun’s online portal added, quoting a source.
The source added, “The same treatment was meted to those outside. I heard their leader, a colonel, during a telephone conversation, telling the person at the other end that they had not found anything incriminating and that it seemed the information (they had) was not accurate”
Hadi, who recounted her experience, said that the family was evaluating the damages done by the men, stressing: “We intend to come up with details of what happened and the action to follow in due course.”
The military formation in Kano has denied any invasion, with the outgoing military spokesman in Kano State, Captain Ikediche Iweha reacting to the story with an exclamation.
“Haba! we don’t invade houses. If the story you are telling is correct, then it must be the usual routine checks,” he told The Sun.