…Targets rehabilitation, reintegration of 10,000 victims in one year

The Kano multi-agency taskforce on drug and other illicit substances abuse said enforcement of its statutory responsibility task has disrupted supply of illicit substances in the state.

Besides, the taskforce disclosed that no fewer than 71 peddlers including suppliers and victims have been arrested and charged to court since the commencement of enforcement.

Briefing members of the Kano Correspondents Chapel on the update of its operations, Chairman of the special taskforce, Barr. Muhuyi Magaji Rimin-Gado revealed that significant success have been achieved in the areas of demand and supply.

The immediate past Chairman of Anti-Corruption Commission added that the taskforce is tackling cases of gang violence with several arrest of leaders of various rival groups.

Barr. Rimin-Gado worried over the incessant cases of violence and unrest occasioned by the gang thugs who usually foment trouble under the influence of illicit substances insisted the multi-agency operatives are prepared to crackdown any group found wanting.

He disclosed that the committee had recorded 71 arrests in Dan Agundi Jalamo, a location identified as a hotspot, with four cases having the potential to result in convictions. According to him, suspects arrested for drug-related offences are first subjected to drug tests.

The Chairman added that those gang leaders and other individuals considered highly dangerous were sent to correctional facilities, citing cases involving persons convicted for violent offences, including murder-related activities.

“Those individuals who test positive for a single substance, particularly cannabis (THC), are usually counselled and released to their parents or guardians, with follow-up tests scheduled after one month. However, those found to be abusing multiple substances are prosecuted, with some subsequently sentenced to rehabilitation programmes rather than conventional imprisonment.

“Currently, over 41 inmates convicted by the court are serving their time at Kiru Reformatory Institute. They are not in prison; the government caters for their care and feeding at no cost to them,” he said.

Beyond the arrest, the Chairman disclosed that State Government has commenced a comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration programme aimed at taking 10,000 of the youths off the streets within one year.

Rimin-Gado said the committee was operating under a dual mandate to suppress daba (thuggery) gangs and combat illicit drug trafficking and abuse, stressing that its approach was focused not only on enforcement but also on rehabilitation and reintegration.

According to him, the committee was established to identify and address security and social problems affecting Kano communities, adding that the state government had given it the necessary independence to discharge its responsibilities.

According to him, the committee plans to activate various skills acquisition centres across Kano, including the common facility centre for leatherwork in Sharada and garment centres in Kura, Madobi, Dawakin Tofa, Danbatta, Gwarzo, Gezawa, Minjibir, Warawa and Dala.

He said the initiative would provide beneficiaries with vocational training and career guidance following medical detoxification and rehabilitation while added that beneficiaries would be trained in trades including garment production, leatherwork, electrical installation and GSM repairs, among others.