Kano State Government has offered to rehabilitate over 1,300 political thugs who agreed to surrender their arms and shun violence and criminality in the state.
Governor Abba Yusuf made the commitment at a one-day interface with cluster leaders of the repentant thugs, under Safe Corridor Project, held in Kano on Monday.
Represented by the commissioner for Information and Internal affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, the governor said the state government had pledged to rehabilitate the repentant thugs and reintegrate them into society through various social empowerment programs, aimed at making them self-reliant.
He said the initiative is aimed to provide an opportunity for the youths to turn a new leaf and contribute positively to the society.
Mr Waiya disclosed that the project involves profiling, screening, and rehabilitating repentant youths, with the support of relevant security agencies
“The Safe Corridor Project is an independent initiative developed to address the rising challenges of insecurity and youth restiveness in Kano.
“The project involves profiling, screening, and rehabilitating repentant youths, with the support of relevant security agencies,” he said.
The commissioner expressed the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges of internal security in the state, emphasizing that the initiative is non-political and “solely aimed at tackling the menace of thuggery and other antisocial behaviors.”
“The repentant youths will undergo profiling and screening by relevant security agencies to ascertain their background. This is to ensure that those who are genuinely committed to turning a new leaf are given a chance to do so,”
In their separate remarks, Commissioner of Police and Commander National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, pledged their support for the initiative, cautioning the repentant youths against negative repercussions of illicit behaviors in society.