Kano Police Organise Football Match With ‘Repentant’ Hoodlums

Kano State command of the Nigeria Police Force has, in a bid to curb criminality, invited some repentant hoodlums in the state for a novelty football match.

The State Police Commissioner, Muhammad Gumel, confirmed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, Naija News reports.

According to the statement, the Kano police invited 30 repentant hoodlums for the football match and to its surprise, they received an even greater turnout.

Gumel noted that the command was surprised to have received 99 hoodlums instead of the invited numbers, who all reported at the police headquarters to surrender their weapons and renounce criminality.

“We invited 30 of them, but to our utmost surprise, 99 of them turned up and accepted to shun bad deeds and also submitted their weapons,’’ Vanguard quoted the state police boss to have said.

Gumel said that at the kick-off of the novelty match between the police and the repentant hoodlums, three notorious criminals, who were also invited to embrace peace, chose to rebuff the invitation.

He said: “Three notorious thugs – Bura Kita, Hantar Daba and Sule Maidoki have proved stubborn and refused to submit their weapons to the police and repent.

“This football match is organised by the Police and the Youth Society for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases & Social Vices (YOSPIS), an NGO.

“It is for the purpose of promoting peace and welcoming back youths who had gone astray.

“We have made efforts to make Kano State free of crimes using dialogue and peaceful approaches to encourage youths to shun drug abuse, phone snatching, thuggery and other crimes.”

He assured of N300,000 bounty for any community that produces any of the criminals still on the Police wanted list.

In her remark earlier, the Executive Director of YOSPIS, Ms Zainab Ahmad, said the football match aimed at promoting peaceful coexistence in the state.

Also, retired AVM Ibrahim Umar, who represented Gov. Abba Kabir-Yusuf, expressed appreciation for efforts by the police to rid Kano State of vices.

Umar, Director General (Special Duties) in the governor’s office, also commended YOSPIS for organising the friendly.