- At least two Kano Pillars fans were left seriously injured on Wednesday, after angry home fans went berserk, attacking supporters of the former Nigerian champions during the Nigeria Professional Football League tie between Katsina United and visiting Pillars at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina.
At least two Kano Pillars fans were left seriously injured on Wednesday, after angry home fans went berserk, attacking supporters of the former Nigerian champions during the Nigeria Professional Football League tie between Katsina United and visiting Pillars at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina.
The match ended 1-1, with Seun Yusuf putting Pillars ahead in the 34th minute, before Tasiu Lawal drew level for the home side 10 minutes later.
“We are still at the stadium, we are waiting for the security to lead us out of Katsina. Our players, the technical crew, our chairman and all our fans are still here in one place like refugees,” a terrified Kano Pillars media officer Rilwanu Malikawa told our correspondent on the phone during the attack on Wednesday evening.
According to him, violence started during half-time, with the match even at 1-1, when a section of fans believed to be supporting Katsina United, attacked Pillars’ players and match officials, pummelling them with dangerous substances.
“The initial problem started immediately after the half-time whistle when our players and the match officials were going to the dressing room after the first half. Some fans on one side of the stadium started throwing stones and sachet water at us, which made our players to run back to the pitch.
“We couldn’t even go back to the dressing room for the half-time break,” he told The PUNCH.
“After the situation was controlled by both sides, the match continued, and the match ended 1-1. After the final whistle, some of the fans used the opportunity to cause this kind of problem, which is unfortunate,” he added.
With the help of the police, Malikawa said none of their players got injured in the violence.
“Our players are in one place with the technical crew, they were only hit by stones and sachet water, but no serious injuries. But definitely, a lot of our fans would be injured, we can’t ascertain the situation they are in.”
Some pictures of the attack were shared by Pillars on their Twitter page, amidst reports that two fans died from the chaos.The Police Public Relations Officer, Katsina State Command, Gambo Isa, however, confirmed that two fans were injured and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
He told our correspondent that the police got hint of the attack before the game and had beefed up security around the stadium.
“We tried our best in ensuring that there was peace in the match because of the reports we received that fans were attacked and some vehicles smashed during the last match between Pillars and Katsina United in Kano; there was this report that there would be retaliation (by Katsina fans).
“The Commissioner of Police (Katsina) requested for more personnel to be drafted in, including some mounted troops for effective crowd control. We also deployed a number of policemen inside the stadium. While we were trying to safeguard the players and the match officials, there was chaos among the supporters and fight started.
“According to the reports that I received, two people were injured and were taken to the hospital for treatment.”
Malikawa’s number was not reachable when our correspondent later contacted him, but the PPRO said the Pillars team had been moved out of the stadium safely.
