The Kano State Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse has launched a one-year programme to rehabilitate and equip 10,000 youths involved in drug abuse, trafficking and gang activities with vocational skills.
Chairman of the task force, Muhuyi Magaji, disclosed this during a briefing in Kano, saying the initiative was designed to tackle drug abuse and gang violence while helping affected youths return to productive lives.
Magaji said beneficiaries would undergo medical detoxification, rehabilitation and career guidance before receiving vocational training.
“Our goal is to take 10,000 youths off the streets within one year. We are not simply sending them to prison or rehabilitation centres,” he said.
He explained that the task force would reactivate skills acquisition centres across the state, including a leatherwork centre in Sharada and garment production centres in Kura, Madobi, Dawakin Tofa, Danbatta, Gwarzo, Gezawa, Minjibir, Warawa and Dala.
The youths would be trained in areas such as garment production, leatherwork, electrical work and GSM repairs.
To improve the sustainability of the programme, Magaji said beneficiaries would be organised into community-based clusters rather than receive equipment individually.
He said the approach was adopted because equipment given to individuals was often sold by recipients.
According to him, the government would provide facilities, equipment and operational capital for the clusters, while also supporting beneficiaries to register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The task force, he added, would facilitate access to local and international markets for products manufactured by the beneficiaries.
Magaji also disclosed that the Nigerian Correctional Service had been integrated into the task force’s operations to ensure that inmates received detoxification, rehabilitation and reintegration support.
He said 71 persons had been arrested in Dan Agundi Jalamo, with four cases progressing towards possible conviction.
The chairman said the task force regarded drug users primarily as victims, explaining that suspects who tested positive for a single substance were counselled and released to their parents or guardians.
However, those found to be involved in multiple-substance abuse would face prosecution.
He added that more than 41 convicted persons were currently serving their sentences at the Kiru Reformatory Institute.
Magaji said dangerous gang leaders would continue to be transferred to correctional facilities because of the security risks they posed.
He said the initiative was intended to address the underlying causes of drug abuse and thuggery by providing vulnerable youths with practical skills and opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.
