More than one year after 16 Kano hunters were lynched by a mob in Uromi, Edo State, families of the deceased and survivors say they are still waiting for compensation and justice promised by government authorities.
SolaceBase reports that the killings, which occurred in March 2025 as the hunters travelled home from Rivers State for the Eid-el-Fitr celebration, drew national attention and prompted a series of assurances from both Kano and Edo state governments.
Among the assurances were promises that those responsible for the attack would be prosecuted and that affected families and survivors would be compensated.
Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, who visited Kano after the incident, assured bereaved families that the perpetrators would face the full wrath of the law.
Authorities subsequently announced the arrest of 14 suspects linked to the killings and their transfer to Abuja for further investigation.
The Kano State Government also constituted a delegation led by the former Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo to visit Edo State and engage relevant stakeholders over the incident, while discussions on compensation and other forms of support were initiated.
However, findings by SolaceBase showed that while affected families recently received food items and cash support from the Kano State Government, many said the compensation promised after the killings has yet to be paid.
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Several relatives of the victims and survivors also said they had received little information regarding the prosecution of suspects arrested in connection with the attack.
For Ibrahim Isah, one of the survivors and leader of the hunting group, the pain of that day remains difficult to forget.
“What I have seen with my naked eyes happened to my people and relatives still haunts my mind,” he said.
Recounting the events that led to the killings, Isah said members of the group had carried identification cards and approval documents authorising their hunting activities and had informed security personnel in the area before they were stopped by vigilantes.
According to him, their explanations were ignored. “They saw our hunting guns and other equipment and started accusing us of being bandits. Before you know it, people were came out from everywhere and attacked us.”
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He recalled that the situation escalated after one of the vigilantes fired a gunshot into the air.
“The vigilante fired into the air, and people started gathering from everywhere. They attacked us with cutlasses and other weapons. After they killed some of our people, we started running.”
Isah said he sustained multiple injuries while attempting to escape and eventually found refuge in a motor garage before security personnel intervened several hours later.
Despite surviving the attack, he said many questions remain unanswered more than a year later.
“They promised they would call us and keep us informed. Up till now, nobody has called us. There is no compensation, and we do not know what is happening regarding the court case.”
Beyond the survivors, the uncertainty surrounding the promises made after the tragedy continues to weigh heavily on families who lost loved ones.
For Khadija Abdullahi, whose husband was among those killed, the tragedy altered the course of her life.
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Married for only four months before her husband’s death, she said the trauma and persistent anxiety that followed contributed to the loss of her pregnancy.
She recalled that Kano government officials who visited the community after the killings promised support and compensation.
“One year later, no compensation promised earlier has been fulfilled. During Ramadan, we received two bags of rice and N300,000, but the compensation promised after the killings has not been paid,” she said.
