Fear as rumour of blood-sucking syndicate hits Kano communities

Fear has enveloped several communities in the Kano metropolis over a trending report of blood-sucking syndicates going about in the communities.

The alleged syndicates, comprising mainly women, are said to be entering residential areas in Kano City either asking for alms, water to drink or restroom to use, but that their benefactors would suddenly lose their consciousness and blood, leading to their death.

The rumour is so widespread in the city that many people, particularly women, shut the doors of their houses out of fear of the imaginary vampires that are said to have killed several people.

Banking on the avalanche of social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, the rumour went viral, leading to attacks on some women who were alleged to be a part of the syndicate, following which eight persons, according to the state police command, were arrested.

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However, Daily Trust Saturday findings across several parts of the city revealed that there was no evidence of bloodsuckers in the city as popularised by the rumour and amplified by social media platforms.

In the Dorayi area of Gwale LGA, a woman who identified herself as Zainab Kabir, claimed that her cousin’s neighbour was a victim of such blood-sucking women in Kofar Na’isa.

She said, “It happened with my cousin’s neighbour. They came in and asked for water to drink but later sucked her blood.”

When she was asked to provide further detail or contact of the victim or her relative to lead one of our reporters to the victim, she refused.

Another lady in the DanAgundi area, Aisha Iliya, who earlier said that she heard of another incident in Sharada Quarters, could not provide any plausible information that could lead to meeting the victim or relatives. Many of the people of the state said they had encountered the news of the spread of the people. But none confirmed its reality.

Meanwhile, many people have been beaten to stupour just because they enter houses seeking assistance.

Daily Trust Saturday further gathered that the people affected are women who do not have access to public convenience. While others fall victim as they go from house-to-house to either hawk or beg for alms. This has rendered many of them vulnerable to the attacks, forcing many of them to refrain from the act.

In the Kurna area of Dala LGA and in Ungogo LGA, many people said that they had heard about the syndicate and had been on high alert.

Maimuna Abdullahi, a resident of Tudun Fulan, said she survived being mobbed as a result of the rumour when she went to seek help because of her daughter from a nearby house.

She said she went along with her four-year-old daughter to check her plot, but that the daughter was caught as she wanted to use the toilet.

She explained that, “I checked around and there was nowhere she could do it. I knew of the rumour circulating that was why I decided not to enter any house. But I had no option, so my daughter started crying. I had to enter one house to beg the woman for help.

“Before you know it she called her neighbours and the shops around their houses. People started shouting: “A blood sucker”. They started beating me. They wounded me in many parts of my body. I was rescued by one of their neighbours who said he knew my son.” She further said that after the incident her husband reported the case to the police through vigilantes and that they were currently investigating the matter.

Another woman, who was also attacked, Lami Usaini Lawan, said she attended a wedding to perform a traditional song, but that while the performance was ongoing a woman fainted.

She said, “They said I was among those women that were sucking the blood of people. They beat me and dumped me outside and people continued beating me. I was tied with a rope for an offence I didn’t commit.”

Speaking on the possibility of the incidents, a hematologist and blood transfusion expert from the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, Ismail Musa, said that it was impossible in medical science that someone could suck blood from another person without the aid of physical equipment.

He said there were only three ways through which one could lose: blood to be burnt by a disease in the body, someone to use a knife or any other object to stab people, or in an accident.

He further said, “There are three types of blood in the human body; the white blood, the red blood and the cells. In medical science, they can only get affected when the person is ill, like malaria or typhoid. They can reduce or burn the blood. Likewise in a road accident or blood donation and so on.

“But it is not possible for someone to just talk to you and you lose your blood. It is not possible.”

Although Daily Trust could not ascertain where an incident occurred, a video clip went viral where two middle-aged women are being assaulted by youths after being accused of sucking people’s blood. Like other scenarios, the victims could not be seen but only the women and their abusers.

Meanwhile, the Kano State Police Command has said that it was taking measures to address the problem and that it had so far arrested eight people in connection with the incidents.

Speaking through the spokesman of the command, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, the Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Usaini Gumel, urged residents to ignore the said presence of the bloodsuckers and consider it a rumour.

Kiyawa revealed that the allegations had been investigated by the police and were found to be unsubstantiated rumour fabricated with the sole aim of promoting hate for strangers in Kano “and by extension inciting public disturbances, creating fear, chaos and disrupting the peace being enjoyed in the state.”

The police pointed out that the reports were becoming more rampant, especially from the beginning of September.

He, therefore, warned the public to stay clear of such rumour as investigations had been instituted to unveil fabricators of the rumour that had so far led to attacks on people.

He further said, “CP Gumel warns promoters of the rumour to desist from the act while also cautioning residents against jungle justice as whoever is arrested will be prosecuted according to the law.”