The Kano State Hisbah Board has detained a beer dealer in the state, Sylvanus Mbah of Silver Tavern, alongside his children and workers.
A source told SaharaReporters that a northerner, who is a Muslim had bought the plot where Silver Tavern is located but because Mbah’s rent is still valid till February, the landlord allegedly resorted to using the Islamic police to force Mbah, a southern Christian out of the house.
He said: “They came to Igbo Road, by Yoruba Road to one Sylvanus Mbah’s shop, Silver Tavern, and took everything in his store. They arrested him; they even beat up his children. They took all the beer and other alcoholic drinks in his shop away. They destroyed some. They arrested his children – two children and his workers. They locked the man up; till now, he’s in the custody of Hisbah.”
The source told SaharaReporters that the chairman of the association of beer dealers and its executives in the state had tried to bail the man to no avail.
He said it was common for beer dealers to be harassed by members of the Islamic police corps for no reason.
“That’s how it happens here. The House of Assembly should proffer a lasting solution to this. We are all Nigerians and we pay taxes and we are also part of those who generate revenue for Nigerian government.
“The Nigerian constitution says we are free to live anywhere in the country but here, it’s a different ball game.”
The destruction of bottles of beer and other alcoholic beverages is indeed common in Kano and some other northern states.
For instance, in November 2020, about 1,975 bottles of beer estimated at N200 million were confiscated and destroyed by the security outfit.
The incident took place in the metropolis of the state, following a court order, it was learnt.
Speaking during the destruction exercise at Kalebawa in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the consumption of alcohol and all intoxicants that could distort the mental capability of a person is forbidden in Islam.
