Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
01ABUJA1133
2001-05-16 09:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:  

KANO HOTEL BURNED BY SHARI'A ENFORCERS

Tags:  PGOV KISL SOCI EAID NI ASEC 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001133 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2006
TAGS: PGOV KISL SOCI EAID NI ASEC
SUBJECT: KANO HOTEL BURNED BY SHARI'A ENFORCERS

REF: (A) ABUJA 762 (B) ABUJA 358


Classified by Charge Tim Andrews for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).


C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001133

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2006
TAGS: PGOV KISL SOCI EAID NI ASEC
SUBJECT: KANO HOTEL BURNED BY SHARI'A ENFORCERS

REF: (A) ABUJA 762 (B) ABUJA 358


Classified by Charge Tim Andrews for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).



1. (C) Summary: In a recent crackdown, the Government of
Kano State authorized the quasi-vigilante enforcement of the
State's new liquor law by sending the Deputy Governor,
accompanied by Hisbah members (Shari'a enforcers) to five
hotels to enforce a ban on the sale or purchase of alcohol by
Muslims. Some of the Hisbah became aggressive and broke
liquor bottles, then burned an Igbo hotel two nights later.
This action appears to have been an attempt by Governor
Kwankwaso to deflect criticism from Muslim leaders that the
State was not serious in its efforts to enforce Shari'a.
Over 90 percent of Kwankwaso's constituents are Muslim, and
while many are concerned about Shari'a implementation, none
feel free to openly criticize it. Unfortunately, this action
has increased insecurity among the Igbo and Yoruba
communities in Kano, while unofficially sanctioning vigilante
action by Muslims. The Governor assured Poloff that the
perpetrators of the arson have been arrested, and held
without bail. He claimed they could not be brought to trial
without causing further protest by Muslims, and potential
unrest. Governor Kwankwaso stopped short of admitting it,
but his control of Kano State appears to be steadily eroding.
End Summary.


--------------
Enforcing Shari'a
--------------



2. (C) During a two-day trip to Kano May 11 and 12, Poloff
met with law enforcement, religious, civil society and
Government leaders to verify reports of recent Hisbah
enforcement activities. Nigerian media reported last month
that Deputy Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje led a group of
Hisbah Shari'a enforcers and Nigerian Police to five of
Kano,s biggest hotels on April 14 to "order" them not to
sell alcohol. During the raids, Hisbah enforcers broke
liquor and beer bottles and engaged in minor vanalism. Two
days later, some Hisbah youths came back and burned down the
Henzino Hotel, a prominent Igbo/Yoruba social gathering
place. Contrary to published reports, Deputy Commissioner of

Police Ezozue was not involved in any of these incidents. He
said the Deputy Governor had not informed him or the
Commissioner prior to the raids on the hotels, and commented
on the "dangerous" precedent set by this action.


--------------
Background
--------------



3. (C) There are currently two groups of Hisbah enforcers in
Kano. The official group, created in November, 2000, is led
by Sheikh Abubakar Ameen Al-Deen, reports to the Police and
co-ordinates its activities with the State Government.
Several months after the largely ceremonial "launching" of
Shari'a last June, some Kano Muslims, impatient with the
Government's inaction, created their own independent Shari'a
enforcement organization unaffiliated with State Government.
These groups overlap somewhat, but the Governor claims that
the unofficial Shari'a enforcers were responsible for the
property damage to the hotels, and for the arson. On April
7, Kano's Independent Shari'a Committee, a group of Ulama who
are critical of the Governor,s handling of Shari'a, gave
Kano authorities a one-week ultimatum to order hotels to stop
selling alcohol. In response, Governor Kwankwaso said that
he ordered Deputy Governor Ganduje to make a symbolic
demonstration against the hotels and order them to stop
selling alcohol. While State-sanctioned Hisbah enforcers and
a few police from the Government House guard-force
accompanied Ganduje, several rowdies from the independent
Hisbah took advantage of the opportunity to wreak havoc.
Fortunately, only liquor stocks were damaged on the 14th.



4. (C) Governor Kwankwaso said that a group of the
Independent Hisbah returned on the 16th and burned the
Henzino Hotel. He said the Hotel was located in a Muslim
residential neighborhood, and that there had been a long
history of conflicts with the neighbors, largely because the
Hotel was a large commercial establishment, surrounded by a
Hausa residential neighborhood. He reported that his
intelligence on the incident indicated that some of the
Hotel's neighbors contacted the unofficial Hisbah, and asked
them to burn the Hotel. The Governor said that he was
"gravely concerned" about the hotel-burning, and that six of
the perpetrators had been arrested. He confided that they
were being held by police without bail, but could not be
brought to trial at this time because of the potential for
protests by other Hisbah members and Shari'a supporters.



5. (C) Poloff observed that the new modus operandi for
hotels is that no liquor or beer bottles are left on the
tables. Most nightclubs have closed, and the beer parlors in
Sabon Gari, the predominantly Christian/Southern neighborhood
of roughly 500,000 inhabitants, are being more discreet.
Kwankwaso said that the Government has no intention of
prohibiting alcohol sale or consumption by Christians, as
long as it is done with "discretion." The unofficial policy
is now that alcohol may be served as long as bottles or cans
are not readily visible. The Central Hotel, traditionally
one of Kano's busiest night-club venues, was nearly deserted
on a Friday night. The burning of the Henzino has made other
Kano hotelliers understandably nervous, and they are now
reluctant to risk serving alcohol openly.



6. Comment: Most people in Kano view this action as a
political move by the Deputy Governor to position himself for
the PDP gubernatorial nomination in 2003. Ganduje has in
fact become much more popular than the Governor following the
raids, and his Abubakar Rimi-led faction of the PDP may
succeed in wresting the PDP nomination from Kwankwaso.
Kwankwaso is accurately viewed by his constituents as
reluctant to enforce Sharia, and his popularity has suffered.
It was not surprising, however, that Kwankwaso claimed to
have organized the D.G.'s outing in order to "do something"
to appease Shari'a supporters. Aminu Wali, the President's
liaison to the National Assembly and a Kano political brahmin
with a profound knowledge of the intricacies of its politics,
confirmed to us that both Kwankwaso and the D.G. knew in
advance of the "raids." In any event, Kwankwaso would not be
able to publicly criticize or reprimand his Deputy.
Enforcing the State's drinking laws through the Hisbah rather
than the National Police sets the rather unfortunate
precedent that Kano State permits vigilante Shari'a
enforcement. Given the fact that one hotel was burned
immediately after the raids, this policy may be very
difficult for civil authorities to reverse.



7. (U) Comment Continued: This incident has added
significantly to the existing tensions in Kano between
Northern and Southern ethnic groups. Southerners took note
of the fact that the one hotel that was burned belonged to an
Igbo, and served as a central social meeting-place for Igbo
and Yoruba. However, the fact that alcohol is still
available under the rather transparent "cover" of cups but no
bottles means that even ardent Shari'a enforcers still have
their limits. Post will follow with a broader analysis of
Shari,a and the security situation in Kano septel.
Andrews