Hisbah Confiscates 260 Crates of Alcoholic Drinks In Bauchi

Hisbah Confiscates 260 Crates of Alcoholic Drinks In Bauchi.

The Hisbah Board in Bauchi State has confiscated 260 crates of alcoholic drinks from hotels and nightclubs as part of its effort to enforce Sharia Islamic code.

The permanent commissioner in charge of Hisbah and Sharia implementation, Aminu Balarabe, disclosed this while displaying the commodities in Bauchi on Tuesday.

He said 216 crates were confiscated in Misau Local Government Area and 44 in Bauchi Club and some beer parlors located in Dass Park in Bauchi metropolis.

He said, “We will continue to beam our searchlight to unravel perpetrators of such misdemeanors.“ The commissioner said the department would soon seek a court order to destroy the items as the subsisting Sharia law which was implemented in 2003 prohibits sales and consumption of alcoholic drinks.

Balarabe, who displayed the confiscated drinks on the premises of the state Sharia commission, said no fewer than six operators of beer parlours were arrested during the patrol and they would soon be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.

”The only places where sales and consumption of alcoholic drinks are allowed are military and police barracks, national parks. We are fully committed to implementing our mandate,” he said.

Despite public condemnation, the destruction of beer and other alcoholic beverages by Hisbah has continued in some northern states. For instance, in November 2020, about 1,975 bottles of beer estimated at N200 million were confiscated and destroyed by the security outfit in Kano State. The agency established to enforce Sharia law in some states recently banned stylish haircuts, sagging of trousers, and playing of music at social events by disk jockeys. They have also been seizing tricycles from riders for adorning them with pictures considered to be obscene and against the tenents of Islam.

Hisbah also banned commercial motorcycle and tricycle riders from carrying two women at a time. This was in addition to other unusual directives reeled out by the Islamic police.