560 RETIRED THIEVES FORM ASSOCIATION OF REPENTANCE IN JIGAWA
Speaking further, Dodo who claimed to be a retired thief, said some shy members of the association secretly took the oath of repentance.
“We accepted them, but we compelled the stubborn ones to come to the podium to repent. Put together, in this year we have been able to get 560 repentant thieves across the state, apart from this Saturday occasion which you can see is ongoing” ,he said
He added that his association would be of benefit to farmers and herders in the state because most of the repentant thieves specialised in stealing cattle and farm produce such as rice, sorghum and maize, stressing that the association has returned four cows to their owners.
He further added that the group was committed to dealing with deviant youth who persist in stealing and other acts such as substance abuse and indecent dressing, just as he also spelt out the association “dos and don’ts” to its members, which include, “No herdsman is allowed to walk with cutlass, or sword, no one is allowed to transport goat on motorcycle.”
“No one is allowed to cut down trees in the forest without the permission of agricultural extension worker; no farmer is allowed to set ablaze the remnant of stems in his farm. Anyone that calls a repentant thief a thief, after repentance, is subject to the fine of N100.000 and no Fulani woman is allowed to hawk beyond 6:00 pm’,he emphasised”
Meanwhile, Jigawa State Police Command Public Relations Officer,Abdu Jinjiri when contacted for comment on the development, said he needed permission from his superior officers to do so.
