The Kano police command has arrested Fatima Auwal, the leader of the women protesters who are Gurasa bakers in Kano. Her arrest was carried out by the Jakara Division of the Nigeria Police on Saturday.
Gurasa is a staple food common in many parts of northern Nigeria, produced with flour, yeast, sugar, and water.
It can be recalled that Fatima Auwal led other members in a protest last Thursday to express their displeasure over the hike in the price of flour, which is a common ingredient used in the production of Gurasa.
According to an anonymous source, her arrest was prompted by complaints received by the police from two women and a man. They claimed that she was not a member of their association and therefore did not have the right to use their name in the protest.
Later reports revealed that she was released on bail in the evening after some intervention and was asked to report back to the police station on Sunday.
Fatima Auwal expressed surprise at her arrest, stating that the protest was peaceful and aimed at addressing the government regarding the increasing price of flour, a major raw material in Gurasa production.
She questioned why expressing their views peacefully would warrant police intervention.
She explained, “The police said some women and a man complained that we used the name of their association during the protest, which is not true.”
She clarified that they were producers of Gurasa, while the complainants were sellers, so it was perplexing to be accused of impersonating them.
Although Fatima Auwal is a Gurasa baker and leads a smaller group of bakers, the larger Gurasa Bakers Association complained to the police about her claiming leadership of their group, which she is not entitled to.
The chairman of the Jakara Junction Gurasa Bakers Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, Hadiyyatulahi Hatmisu, confirmed that they were the complainants to the police regarding the use of their association’s name by the protesters.
He explained that while Fatima Auwal is a Gurasa baker and leads 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 price hike in flour, he mentioned it as a normal economic challenge, not a sudden increase.
