Gombe State’s Commissioner for internal security and Ethical Orientation, Dauda Zambuk, at the weekend said the state recorded 200 rape, 37 sodomy and 10 kidnap cases in 2020 with five recorded in January of the new year 2021 alone.
Speaking to a group of journalists in his office in Gombe Zambuk said 61 persons were also arrested for an act of gross indecency while three children were reported abandoned.
“In all the total number of 314 suspects were arrested and all were charged to court,” he said.
The commissioner said the state government after the investigation was a shock to find out that all kidnappings were perpetrated by criminals from the neighbouring Adamawa and Taraba States.
According to Zambuk, 40 rape cases were lodged in Gombe alone while 39 attempted rape were reported in the entire state.
He lamented that the cases were often between father’s and female children and all the victims are underaged.
“37 were arrested for unnatural (gay and lesbianism) offences, 61 for act of gross indecency and three cases of abandoned children were recorded in 2020.”
The break down of rape and other unnatural offences in all the 11 Local government areas of the state showed that Gombe leads with 40 reported cases followed by Akko 28 and Billiri 22.
Others are Funakaye 17, Balanga 15, Nafada 15, Yamatu Deba 13, Dukku 13, Kwami 12, Kaltungo 12 and Shongom 2.
He noted that gender-based violence had been recognised as a Human Rights abuse “that leads to high rates of mortality including gynaecological.”
Zambuk, a security expert explained that the state government has set up the state security strategic plan to consider, “what should be done to ensure that Gombe is secured.
“We have also sent the bill for the establishment of the state security and environmental corp to the state Assembly for ratification.
“On approval, it will be domesticated at every one of the 114 wards in the state,” he hinted, adding that leadership in the ministry had set up a 24-hour toll-free Security Information Centre (SIC) attending to emergency criminal cases.
