Illegal beer parlours are springing up in all nook and cranny of Suleja Local Government area of Niger State – a settlement bordering the Federal Capital Territory.
The Suleja Concern Initiative Against Illegal Beer Parlors (SCIAIBP) disclosed this in a statement signed by its spokesperson Ramatu Abdullahi on Wednesday and made available to Daily Trust.
The statement said the slums constitute nuisance to the entire Suleja community, abuse of the privacy of many residents as well as a brewing ground for youths drunkenness and criminality.
The body noted that there was a law against indiscriminate sale of beer and alcohol in Niger State since the previous administration of late Abdulkadir Kure.
While noting that there was a board; Niger State liquor board, with the responsibility of issuing licences for the sale of alcohol in only designated areas, SCIAIBP lamented that the number of illegal beer parlours and joints in the Rafinsanyin area of Suleja was becoming alarming.
“The state sharia commission as well as liquor board needs to intensify effort in order to bring the operators of these illegal alcohol joints to order.
“So far, more than half of Rafinsayin has been taken over by these illegal beer parlour operators.
“Aside the alcohol sale, hard drugs and other criminal activities are also taking place in such places.
“The inspector General of police, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services need to set up a joint task force in order to curb this menace in the interest of the good people of Suleja”, the group stated.
