PWDs task Kaduna government on provision of interpreters in public facilities

Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), especially the deaf and dumb in Kaduna State have appealed to the government at all levels to employ sign language interpreters in all public facilities to ease their communication.

A representative of the group, Mohammed Abubakar, stated this in Kaduna during this year’s commemoration of International Day of Persons With Disabilities (IDPWDs) organised by the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN).

He said, “It is sad that deaf people go to hospitals, but communication becomes a barrier for those who can’t write. It is more painful because they can’t explain their ailments.

“It is the same in other public institutions across the state. Even the media, especially television houses are not following the trend in international practices by having sign language interpreters during their news bulletins. This does not speak well of the country in the 21st century.”

General Secretary of NUTGTWN, Issa Aremu, said textile workers in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) decided to celebrate with PWDs because there was an ability in disability.

Aremu urged the government to approve a special minimum wage for them, insisting that government should respect the rule of law by obeying court orders to release people in detention.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of District Head of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Yahaya Yusuf Abubakar Sarkin Kudu and a former Education Secretary of the council, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa.

The command also said three other persons were abducted at Sabon Tasha in Chikun Council Area yesterday.

A statement issued by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Yakubu Sabo, disclosed that the incidents happened on December 19, 2019.

“The Kaduna State Police Command received information of two separate incidents of kidnapping through DPO Buruku and Sabon Tasha to the effect that unknown gunmen in military uniforms intercepted a vehicle along the Birnin Gwari Road and seized two occupants to an unknown destination,” the statement reads.

He said the victims were identified as Alhaji Yahaya Yusuf Abubakar Sarkin Kudu and Alhaji Ibrahim Musa.

“A similar incident was recorded at Sabon Tasha in Chikun LGA were three persons namely: Jonathan Obi, Joakin Obi, and Benjamin Obi, all of the same addresses were kidnapped about 2 pm by hoodlums and taken to an unknown destination,” he added.

Sabo said on receiving the information, officers from the Anti-Kidnapping, SARS and the IRT units were dispatched to the areas, adding: “The entire bush around the areas have been thoroughly searched with a view to rescuing the victims and apprehending the culprits.”