From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The Police in Kano have arrested a senior official of the Kano State Hisbah Command, Sani Rano at a hotel in Sabon – Garri Area of the state.
The officer who was in charge of Anti – Begging unit of the Sharia enforcement body in the state was arrested in the low- class hotel somewhere along Abadi Street in Sabon – Garri Area by officers of the Sabon – Garri Division of the Police Command in the company of one married woman identified as Maryam Ahmed.
An officer attached to the Sabon – Garri Division of the police, who sought anonymity, told Daily Sun that the accused Hisbah official was on his kneels for close to an hour, pleading with the DPO not to charge the case to court as was originally intended.
The accused man was later released on bail to the Director of Operations, Kano State Hisbah Command, who was dispatched by the Kano State Hisbah Command to liaise with the police on the case.
Kano State Hisbah Commander, Mohammed Haruna told the media that a committee has been set up to investigate the case.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa , a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the case and said that investigation was on going on the matter
He adding the allegded culprits have both made statements to the police adding that all the persons directly connected to the case would be invited to make their own statements.
He explained that from the statements made by the two alleged culprits0 the man and the woman, it appeared that lady is a niece to the Hisbah official as well as a victim of a 30- day -old troubled marriage.
“This certainly looks another case of troubled marriage. The lady ran away from her marital home, approached an unnamed person in Sabon – Garri, who rented a room for her in a down town hotel from where she expected to stay away from her husband’s home.
“The uncle, (the Hisbah official), who gave her hand out in marriage, was there at the hotel probably to talk sense to her, but barely 20 minutes after he arrived and was there with her, someone tipped off the police and they swooped on the hotel and effected the arrest” he stated.
“This case would be thoroughly investigated anyway, but it is a bit too early to say anything beyond this” he told Daily Sun.
It could be recalled that the arrest of the official had triggered off widespread interest, given the fact that he represents a body that enforces moral and religious laws in the state.