Gombe community parades 6 for house burglary, theft
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Residents of Tumfure area in Gombe state have arrested a notorious group suspected to have been raging terror in the community.
This was following recent turn of events which left a staff of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), injured, as he is currently receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe.
Speaking on the effort of the community in arresting and handing culprits to the police, Chairman of the community Association, Alhaji Umar Marafa, said the community effort was made realistic through night patrol of the area
Marafa stressed that the recent surge in theft was a source of concerning, adding that youth took turns to ensure it success.
He said, “a lot of valuables including phones, laptops, money, and even foodstuff have been stolen from several houses that have been broken into in just few weeks, so, we in the spirit of community policing decided to come together.”
Marafa added that the four out of the six suspects arrested are youths from the area while the other two were from Pantami in Gombe metropolis, noting that suspects have been handed over to the police and that police have promised to charge the case to court.
“We are encouraging victims to come to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the state police command to give their statement, so that the boys can be charged to court to answer for what they have done,” he added.
Also speaking, Dr. Umar Adamu, a lecturer with Gombe State University (GSU) confirmed that substance abuse was a major factor in the growing cases of theft
According to the him, the cases of theft, and snatching of phones and hand bags are slowly becoming a menace in Gombe and that it is being carried out by youths high on drugs.
He also blamed the rate of unemployment in the state and therefore wish that the state government would pay more attention to tackling drug circulation and the provision of job opportunities for youth.
While urging the state command of the Nigerian Police as well as other security agencies in the state including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to do the needful in ending the menace of drug abuse and theft in Gombe.
He said, “You hear almost every day, that boys numbering five, 10 to 20 in their mid-20s breaking into peoples houses with cutlasses, sticks, and other weapons asking for money or phone and other valuables.
“These are youths that are high on drugs and are already addicts who are looking for money to fund their addiction.”
As a way of curbing the menace in Gombe, Umar urged professionals in the state to embark on counseling and orientation campaigns in the state.
“But this has to do with the cooperation of the state government and other actors such as the NDLEA and others,” he said.
Meanwhile, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Gombe, SP Mary Malum, has assured that the command was aware of the happening and has initiated plans to tackle the threat.
She said, “We noticed that our divisional offices are not doing enough on the matter so the command is paying more attention to the issue now, the CID unit has been ordered to go after such youths and their accomplices”.
She added, “The action taken by some part of Tumfure community is highly commendable, the police cannot be everywhere. We implore communities to support the police either in patrol or to timely feed the police with information, that is the essence of community policing, we all have to contribute to our peaceful co-existence.”
