Operatives of the Bauchi Police Command recently conducted a raid on the Mallam Kawu Rehabilitation and Skill Acquisition Center located in Yakubu Wanka, Bauchi Local Government Area. During this operation, the founder of the center, Mallam Kawu, was arrested on serious allegations of abuse, sodomy, and exploitation of the inmates. In addition to Kawu’s arrest, ten children were evacuated from the facility.
The raid was executed in collaboration with the Hisbah Command of the State Shariah Commission. Reports from Media Talk Africa indicate that many of the inmates at the center were drug addicts who had been brought there for rehabilitation and to acquire skills such as carpentry, welding, and computer training. A former inmate, Yahaya Yusuf, lodged a complaint against Mallam Kawu, alleging that the facility harbored criminals and was involved in acts of sodomy. Yusuf further accused Kawu of sexual abuse, claiming that he contracted HIV as a result of sodomy perpetrated by Kawu and visitors to the center.
During a briefing for journalists on Tuesday, Hisbah Permanent Commissioner Aminu Balarabe Isa provided additional details about the raid. He revealed that children from countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, Niger, and Côte d’Ivoire had been brought to the center under the pretense of rehabilitation. Isa noted that the initial number of inmates at the center exceeded 300, including foreign nationals from Niger and Cameroon, as well as underage and mentally unstable individuals. However, prior to the operation, Mallam Kawu had released many inmates. The commissioner stated that details regarding the remaining inmates would be collected.
Bauchi
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