The Bauchi State Police Command and the Hisbah Shariah Commission have raided the popular Malam Kawu Rehabilitation Centre and arrested the operator, Mallam Kawu, and 10 children.

Our correspondent gathered that the majority of the inmates were drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation and skill acquisition in areas such as carpentry, welding and computer training.

It was also gathered that one of the ex-students of the centre, Yahaya Yusuf, informed Hisbah that he was taken to the centre by his mother for rehabilitation but discovered that the centre harbored “hardened criminals and was committing sodomy.”

He accused the operator of the center, Mallam Kawu, of sodomy and alleged that he had tested HIV positive following the sodomy practices by Mallam Kawu and visitors to the rehabilitation center.

The Permanent Commissioner of Hisbah, Aminu Isa, said that the joint operation was necessitated by the danger posed by the centre in the state.

The center has over 300 inmates from some African countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, Niger, and Côte d’Ivoire, who were brought to the center for rehabilitation, but illegal practices are surfacing.

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He recalled that two months ago, a group of 16 youths broke into the center and reported to Hisbah that dubious activities were taking place there.

Aminu said Hisbah visited the center unscheduled and discovered that the inmates were not kept in good condition.

He said some of the inmates also alleged to have been sexually abused by other inmates at the center, adding that they are undergoing examinations.

He explained that the commission would be investigating the health status of the inmates to ascertain the claims of HIV.

Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Ahmed Wakil, said the raid was carried out at the request of the Bauchi State government.

According to him, the police received complaints about the rehabilitation center, which prompted them to first invite Mallam Kawu for questioning, but he did not honor the invitation and ignored several calls to his phone.

Wakil said that before the raid, the police were investigating the matter to determine the validity of the allegations.