The Gombe State government yesterday announced that it is ready to grant amnesty to all members of the “Kalare” thugs group if they lay down their arms.
The state’s Commissioner of Youths, Sani Labaran Mijinyawa and his information counterpart, Reverend Habu Dawaki, who addressed newsmen after the state executive council meeting said, the state has directed the absorption of the first 1,200 youths who lay down their arms.
They said a special camp will be set up to re-orient and rehabilitate repentant Kalare youths, after which they will be engaged either as wards, environment, security or traffic marshals.
Mijinyawa said the state government intends to spend about N260million on the training of 350 persons as wards, security and environment marshals and another 150 as traffic marshals with a monthly stipend of N10,000.
He said after the mandatory one month camping, the youths will be fully kitted and deployed to their domains to check restiveness.
The commissioners said by this pronouncement, it was now illegal for any Kalare member to be in possession of arms, adding that anyone found with arms will be termed as an armed robber and prosecuted accordingly.