Dozens Rescued From Illegal Rehabilitation Center In Kano

Operatives of the Kano State Command have rescued dozens of people from an illegal rehabilitation centre.

The victims, numbering 47 and all males, regained freedom on Thursday following a raid of the illegal facility at ‘Yar Akwa community of Unguwa Uku district in Tarauni Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Haruna Kiyawa, who is the Police Public Relations Officer in Kano, confirmed the rescue of the victims to Channels Television on Friday.

He explained that the operation resulted in the arrest of two of the operators of the facility, saying the rescued persons were between the ages of 12 – 30.

Four of the victims who were in chains with varying degrees of injury have been taken to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano for treatment, the command’s spokesman said.

He assured the people of the community and residents of the state that the arrested operators would be charged as soon as the police were done with the investigations.

WATCH: Police Uncover ‘Rehabilitation Centre’ With Chained, Maltreated Children In Daura

One of the inmates who hailed from Lagos State decried the humiliating condition they were subjected to at the centre.

The rescue of the victims comes almost two years since authorities in Kano banned operations of illegal rehabilitation centres across all local government areas in the state.

Security operatives busted several illegal rehabilitation centres across some states in the northern region of the country, including Kaduna, Katsina, and Kwara States two years ago.

On October 12, 2019, a team of police operatives uncovered and shut down an Islamic home housing some children subjected to inhumane treatment in the Sabon Garin Daura area of Katsina State.

The building was discovered after some of the boys held at the facility fled and staged a demonstration in protest of the alleged violation of human rights at the centre.

WATCH: How We Were Sexually Abused In Illegal Kaduna Rehab Centre – Victim

Owned by one of the most famous and respected Islamic scholars in Daura, Bello Mai Almajirai, the centre is said to house people perceived to be outlaws from their parents and society.

Barely a week after the operation, security operatives invaded another illegal facility known as Malam Niga’s Rehabilitation Centre in Kaduna State.

Five days after the invasion, security operatives busted another illegal facility where over 100 victims living in inhuman condition were rescued.