Police commander dies in Kano

Atiku Nagodi, an assistant commissioner of police, is dead.

Nagodi, who was the squadron commander, 9 police mobile force, Kano, died on Monday.

He is the latest victim of the strange deaths recorded in Kano in the last three weeks.

The state has recorded an unusual increase in deaths since it recorded its first coronavirus case in April.

Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor, had denied that the deaths were linked to COVID-19 but while speaking at the inauguration of a mobile testing centre donated by the Dangote Foundation, the governor had said “Kano is in trouble”.

He had said challenges in testing led to the escalation of the number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

“There is no doubt that Kano is in trouble. And there is no doubt that we started on a shaky foundation,” he had said.

“When samples were taken to Abuja for seven hours and came back again in seven hours, that was the shaky foundation I am talking about.”

On Sunday, Sani Gwarzo, national coordinator of the presidential task force on COVID-19, had said coronavirus is behind mass deaths in Kano.

Speaking with reporters, Gwarzo, who also lost his father during the period that Kano recorded a high number of deaths, said investigation had shown that COVID-19 is responsible for some of the deaths.

“Let me inform us that most of the deaths recorded of recent and test carried out showed that coronavirus was the cause,” he had said.

“So, before the final report which would be ready in the next one week or few days, it is necessary for people of Kano to wake up from their slumber that this is a serious issue.

“We need to know what is happening we are successful in identifying what the problems are and secondly we are happy on the level of cooperation the private sector and other stake holders. Many people have come out to support the state we cannot expand our investigation until we are certain.

“We have five cogent reasons to say that the mass death recorded in Kano is associated with coronavirus.”

He listed them as the age of the deceased persons, concentration of the people in one place and “test we have constructed which have element of COVID-19”.

Kano has 323 cases of COVID-19, the second highest in the country.