About 500 thugs popularly known as Sara-Suka have denounced criminal activities and surrendered their weapons to the police in Bauchi.
They surrendered the weapons at a gathering held at the Bauchi State Police Command on Monday.
Various weapons which include knives, cutlasses, clubs and other crude weapons surrendered by the repentant thugs were displayed during the gathering.
The Police Commissioner, Habu Sani Ahmadu, said the denouncement by the repentant Sara-Suka thugs was the result of the new strategy adopted by the command to curb criminal activities through collaborative community policing.
He said owing to pressure and awareness campaigns against crime in the state, some of the thugs decided to abandon their criminal lives, surrendered their weapons and promised to be good citizens.
“Among the repentant youths, 294 of them are skilled in various trades and hand jobs, 31 are students while 170 are unskilled,” he said.
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed who was represented by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Alhaji Abubakar Kari, at the event commended the youths for repenting and abandoning their criminal life and embracing peace.
He promised that the state government has in the pipeline various programmes targeted at improving the lives of youths and women in the state.
