Kano task force targets 10,000 drug abusers for rehabilitation

The Kano State Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking says it is targeting over 10,000 drug abusers for removal from the streets and rehabilitation.

The Chairman of the task force, Muhuyi Rimin Gado, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the agency’s headquarters on Tuesday.

Rimin Gado said the exercise would involve rehabilitation and skills acquisition to enable the beneficiaries to reintegrate into society.

“Our target is to sweep 10,000 youths off the streets, rehabilitate them, and train them in skills acquisition, so that they can go back into society fully informed, reformed, and as people of trust and confidence to the community,” he said.

He said Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had provided an additional facility in Tofa Local Government Area to serve as an extension of the Kano State Reformatory Institute, Kiru, to meet the growing demand for rehabilitation.

According to him, the facility will be equipped and put into use immediately to ensure that no person seeking rehabilitation is turned away.

Rimin Gado said the need for the additional facility became necessary following increased public acceptance of the task force’s operations, including its kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.

“There has been a massive increase in demand for rehabilitation. Families now voluntarily bring their loved ones for effective treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration,” he said.

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He added that the Kano State Reformatory Institute, Kiru, had reached capacity, creating an urgent need for expansion.

Rimin Gado also disclosed that the task force had acted on a complaint involving the alleged illegal administration of Pentazocine to a 63-year-old woman by the former Chairman of Rogo Local Government Area, Yahuza Musa.

He said the allegation was corroborated by a 24-year-old man, who claimed to have spent over N10m and given a plot of land to purchase the same injection from the former chairman.

“The former chairman has since been charged before a competent court of law and the case is ongoing,” Rimin Gado said.

He said the task force had so far referred about 125 individuals to the Kano Reformatory Institute, Kiru, for rehabilitation, stressing that drug abuse should be treated as a condition requiring a healing process.

“For effective reintegration, the Task Force is engaging industrial stakeholders on possible strategies for creating employment, skills acquisition and other productive opportunities for youth who have undergone rehabilitation,” he said.

Rimin Gado commended the NDLEA, Police, DSS, NSCDC, customs, correctional service, KOSSAP, vigilante groups, Hisbah, KAROTA and other agencies for their contributions to the task force’s operations.

He also urged members of the public to continue providing timely and relevant information to the task force to help keep the streets safe and promote a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.