THE Jigawa State Hisbah board, a religious regional security outfit in Northern Nigeria, said it had arrested six persons and also confiscated 453 bottles of assorted beer.
The Hisbah Commander in Jigawa State Ibrahim Dahiru confirmed the arrests and confiscation to NAN on Monday, noting that three women were among the arrested persons.
Dahiru noted that seven litres of local gin were also confiscated from the arrested persons in the Birninkudu Local Government Area of the Jigawa State.
“Hisbah raided a drinking joint in Birninkudu town yesterday at about 9 p.m. where we successfully arrested six suspects, including three females. During the operation, we seized 454 bottles of assorted beer and seven-litre of local gin,” Dahiru said.
Explaining how the items were discovered and confiscated, Dahiru said the suspects were arrested after operatives of the command raided a bar in the area at about 9 p.m. on Sunday.
He noted that the suspects and items had been handed over to the state police command for further investigation.
Last Wednesday, the state Hisbah had also confiscated 308 bottles of assorted alcoholic drinks in the Gumel Local Government Area of the state.
In some states in Northern Nigeria, the consumption and sales of alcohol are prohibited for residents, most especially where the Sharia law is in practice. Some of the states include Borno, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Bauchi, Zamfara, Niger, Gombe, Kaduna, Sokoto states, among others.
The ICIR had reported the alcohol hypocrisy by some of the Northern states which had placed bans on alcohol sales and consumptions but receive federal revenue generated from alcohol sold in other parts of the country.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94