The Kano State Government has called on Hisbah personnel to conduct regular patrols in market areas, motor parks, and uncompleted buildings.
The government said the decision was to check the rising cases of rape being perpetrated by some elements in such places in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, Children, and the Disabled, Aishatu Lawal, gave the charge during a workshop for Hisbah officials from the Northwest Zone on gender-based violence and girl child protection in Kano on Friday.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Sa’adatu Bala, she said the call was necessary in view of the alarming rate of rape cases, especially in such public places.
According to her, frequent patrol of these places by Hisbah operatives would check persistent cases of young boys and girls that are being lured into corners to perpetuate immoral acts on them.
The commissioner expressed hope that the workshop would give participants the opportunity to learn new surveillance skills that will help them prevent sexual abuse of children.
“By working together, we can develop comprehensive strategies that would address the causes of gender-based violence and child abuse in our states,” she said.
She, however, stressed the need for various communities to give Hisba personnel the necessary support and cooperation by giving them the necessary information so as to achieve the desired objective.
“There’s a need for communities to be more vigilant and always report suspicious movements to Hisbah for prompt action.
“It’s my belief that this workshop will enhance their performance towards curtailing incidences of gender-based Based Violence in our states,” she added.
The commissioner commended Development Research and Projects Center, Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria and AL-NAS for initiating the capacity building workshop for Hisbah officials.
Also in his address, the convener, Alhaji Ubale Rano said the workshop was aimed at assessing the achievements recorded on the strategies adopted towards addressing the gender-based violence and child abuse.
“To find out why the increase in the menace, we felt it duty bound to involve various stakeholders including the Hisba officials,” Rano said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commandant General, Kano State Hisbah Board, Sheik Aminu Daurawa lauded the organisers of the event for choosing Kano to host the workshop.
The Hisbah officials and other participants were drawn from Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Jigawa states.
The PUNCH reports that the Kano State Hisbah Corps is a religious police force in Kano State, Nigeria, responsible for the enforcement of Shari’a law to only Muslims in Kano State and other parts of northern Nigeria.
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