From HASSAN JIRGI, Damaturu
Troops of Forward Operations Base, Potiskum arrested a 54-year old man, Mallam Ahmed Abubakar for stealing Yobe State agricultural empowerment tools distributed to farmers for food security.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser on Security, Brigadier-General Dahiru Abdulsalam (rtd), which was made available to AljazirahNigeria, said the troops intercepted and arrested the suspect while conveying the agricultural empowerment tools to an unknown destination.
According to him, the suspect was in possession of five water pumps and eight solar panels suspected to be items issued for empowerment by Yobe State government.
He stated that the suspect hails from Dazigau village in Nangere and claimed to be a serving Councilor, and that the items found in his possession belong to his constituents.
General Abdulsalam revealed that the suspect does not have any letter of allocation or other documents to prove his claim.
The statement added that the suspect and recovered items were handed over to Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Potiskum for further action.
AljazirahNigeria recalled that last month, the federal government donated agricultural inputs to the state government for distribution to farmers, in a bid to boost food security and food sufficiency in the state and Nigeria at large.
Governor Buni appealed to security agencies to arrest anybody found diverting the agricultural empowerment equipment across the 17 local government areas.
When AljazirahNigeria contacted the NSCDC, its spokesperson confirmed the arrest of the 54-year-old man for theft.
