The Kano police command detained Fatima Auwal, the leader of women protesters among Gurasa bakers in Kano, arrested by the Jakara Division of the Nigeria Police on Saturday. Gurasa, a common staple in northern Nigeria, is made from flour, yeast, sugar, and water.
Fatima Auwal led a protest last Thursday against the rising flour prices, a key ingredient in Gurasa.
Her arrest followed complaints from two women and a man who alleged she wasn’t a member of their association and therefore had no right to protest using their name.
An anonymous source revealed that she was released on bail in the evening after intervention and instructed to report back to the police on Sunday.
Fatima Auwal expressed surprise at her arrest, insisting the protest was peaceful and aimed at addressing the government about the escalating flour prices.
She questioned why expressing their views peacefully led to police intervention, explaining, “The police said some women and a man complained that we used the name of their association during the protest, which is not true.”
Fatima clarified that they were Gurasa producers, while the complainants were sellers, making the accusation of impersonation perplexing.
Despite being a Gurasa baker and leading a smaller group, the larger Gurasa Bakers Association complained to the police about her claiming leadership of their group, to which she is not entitled.
Hadiyyatulahi Hatmisu, the chairman of the Jakara Junction Gurasa Bakers Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, confirmed their complaint to the police.
He explained that while Fatima Auwal is a Gurasa baker leading a smaller group, she falsely claimed leadership of the larger baker group.
He stated, “All we are demanding from her is for her to go back to the media and retract her statement.”
Regarding the flour price hike, he mentioned it as a normal economic challenge, not a sudden increase.
