Eight Months After Edo Massacre, Families of Slain 16 Kano Hunters Threaten Major Protest
- Families of 16 slain Kano hunters have expressed frustration after promised compensation has not been paid
- Relatives have described hardship and poverty following the March 2025 massacre in Edo state
- Civil society groups have announced plans for a major protest to demand justice and compensation
The grieving families of the 16 Kano hunters massacred in Edo state have made a passionate appeal to the governments of Kano and Edo states to honour their pledge of compensation and ensure justice is served for their slain relatives.
Source: Getty Images
This call comes more than eight months after Governors Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano state and Senator Monday Okpebholo of Edo state paid a joint condolence visit to the families in April 2025, and publicly promised compensation for the victims of the March 2025 killings in Uromi, Edo state.
The hunters, who hailed from Bunkure, Garko, Dawakin Kudu, Kibiya, and Rano Local Government Areas of Kano, were brutally killed during an expedition in Edo state.
Families of slain hunters remain unpaid, impoverished
However, speaking to the Global Tracker, a local media in Kano, the Chairman of the Committee of the Victims’ Families, Malam Haruna Iliyasu Kibiya, revealed that despite the high-profile promises, not a single kobo has been paid to any of the affected families.
He painted a grim picture of severe hardship, noting that the loss of breadwinners had plunged many families into destitution.
“The families of the slain hunters are living in distress and poverty. They do not even have food to eat, their children can no longer attend school, and their homes are falling apart because they have lost their household heads.”
“This situation pains us deeply. The governments of Kano and Edo states should fulfil the promises they made,” Kibiya stated.
The lamentation was corroborated by Aisha Muhammad and Saifullahi Garko, relatives of one of the victims, who spoke to Legit.ng in Kano.
“It has been very difficult for us, especially now that there is no family support. The one who supported us has been killed unjustly.”
“We have not even been compensated. We find it difficult to eat, and our children are now all suffering,” Aisha expressed the family’s despair.
Source: Twitter
Meanwhile, Saifullahi noted that since the incident, life has turned upside down for most of them.
“I don’t even know what to say, we are all family. He is like my uncle, and i can tell you life is now very very difficult for his children. Even when the governors paid a condolence visit, I was a bit skeptical of their promises. It is about to become true,” he said.
In a related development, a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for the protection of Northern Nigeria and its people has announced plans for a major peaceful protest to pressure the authorities into action.
The Secretary of the coalition, Comrade Kabiru Sani Garko, disclosed in an interview with Global Tracker that preparations are at an advanced stage for the demonstration.
He stated that the protest is scheduled to be held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, during the second week of February 2026, to demand justice and the fulfilment of the compensation pledge for the hunters’ families.
“We are hoping that Nigerians will support the protest to ensure the successful realisation of the families’ rights,” Comrade Garko said.
Edo lynching: Hunters falsely accused, survivors speak
Earlier, Legit.ng reported survivors of the Uromi mob attack in Edo state who described how northern hunters were stopped by vigilantes, falsely labelled as kidnappers, and brutally attacked by a local crowd.
One survivor said they were returning from a hunting trip when vigilantes beat them and handed them over to the mob, which escalated violence despite the hunters carrying only licensed traditional guns.
Another escaped with the help of Hausa residents after being dragged and beaten; the attack left most of their group dead and triggered widespread condemnation by officials and rights advocates.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
