No fewer than 50 repentant thugs in Kano were converted to police special constabulary by the Kano State Police Command after undergoing training.
The state Commissioner of Police, Usaini Gumel, stated this while addressing the repentant thugs at a ceremony held at Sani Abacha Stadium on Tuesday evening.
He said the repentant thugs were drawn from Dala, Fagge, Ungoggo, Municipal and Gwale LGAs of Kano State after completion of the two-month in-take training as members of the Nigeria Police Special Constabulary.
“Today is a happy day for the good people of Kano state and the police Command because we passed out 50 youths from the 222 repentant thugs, who have since surrendered themselves and promised never to engage in thuggery and other social vices that have been bedevilling the state, especially during the 2nd quarter of the year 2023.”
He recalled that about three months earlier, the Command invited some identified notorious individuals believed to be behind the escalation of thuggery and other heinous crimes in the state for dialogue.
According to him, a total of 222 repentant thugs were received and forwarded their names to the state government.
“We forwarded their details to the state Governor for them to be supported by way of engaging them in some life-changing programs.
“It is from this number that 50 volunteered to work with the police and to contribute to the security and development of the state.
“Taking into consideration their commitment to ensuring peace in the state since their repentance, we trained them in classes and the field and kitted them as members of the Special Constabulary.
“Today, they proved to us that the security of Kano is their concern and they will not allow any insecurity elements to jeopardise the peace being enjoyed in the state.”
The commissioner commended the supervising officers of the Command for their efforts in crime fighting and further urged them to continue with community policing engagements with key stakeholders in their areas of responsibility.
The CP directed the officers to work closely with members of the Police Special Constabulary posted back to their communities to enable them to discharge their duty effectively.
In his remarks, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf expressed appreciation for their repentance and pledged to empower them through skills acquisition programmes.
“Kano is setting the pace as the first state in the federation to use a non-kinetic approach in bringing down the wave of crime. This is indeed a plus to our administration’s resolve to build a new Kano, where crime will give way to development, peace and order, and economic prosperity,” he said.
Many prominent personalities including the Emir of Kano attended the programme.
