Sharia Police enforcing Islamic law in the city of Kano have publicly destroyed some 240,000 bottles of beer on Wednesday. This was done to reduce ‘immoral’ behaviours in the area.
The drinks had been seized from trucks coming into the city in recent weeks, the Hisbah force tasked with enforcing the sharia laws revealed.
“The ardent hope this will bring an end to the consumption of such prohibited substances”. Kano’s Hisbah chief, Aminu Daurawa said at the smashing of bottles
As a large bulldozer grinded the bottles, shouts of “Allahu Ahkbar” (God is Great) filled the air from supporters outside the Hisbah headquarters in Kano filled the air.
Also destroyed were kegs containing more than 8,000 litres of a local alcoholic brew popularly known as “burukutu”. Cigarettes were not spared as 320,000 Cigarettes were destroyed too
“We hope this measure will help restore the tarnished image of Kano” said Daurawa.
The Kano State Government had since September given Hisbah the mandate to cleanse the commercial hub of so-called “immoral” practices.
Hisbah is strong moral police force with about 9000 workers. They works collaboratively with the civilian police but also has other duties, including community development work and dispute resolution.
Sharia was reintroduced across northern Nigeria in 2001, but the code has been unevenly applied.
Alcohol is easy to find in Kano, including at hotels and bars in neighborhoods like Sabon Gari (inhabited by the city’s sizeable Christian minority) but the Hisbah boss vowed that this was set to change.
“We hereby send warning to unrepentant offenders that Hisbah personnel will soon embark on an operation into every nook and corner of (Kano) state to put an end to the sale and consumption of alcohol and all other intoxicants,” Daurawa said.
