The Nigeria Police Force has revealed that it has arrested five suspects in connection with the diversion of bags of wheat belonging to the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), and recovered about 1,238 bags of wheat in Port-Hacourt on the 6th of February 2024.
According to ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), “The 1,840 bags of wheat which were to be transported from Ibeto Port Terminal, Port-Harcourt, to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp located in Kano State were fraudulently diverted by the drivers tasked with this assignment, alongside their accomplices, who were intercepted and apprehended by the operatives of the Nigeria Police attached to the Eastern Port.”
Adejobi gave the names of the suspects arrested in connection with the crime as Umar Hashim, Edidiong Umoh, Udah Stanley, Abubakar Jariri, and Yunusa Babangida, adding that 1,238 stolen bags of wheat along with the truck and a bus used in carrying out the crime were recovered.
He said the recovered bags of wheat have been returned to the World Food Programme, and efforts are in top gear to recover the missing 602 bags of wheat and arrest the other suspects associated with the crime.
He noted, “The Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun has re-emphasized the goal of the Nigeria Police to ensure that individuals engaged in activities aimed at sabotaging the economy of the country and entrenching hardships among the vulnerable members of the public are ardently dealt with in line with extant laws. He has therefore ordered that the suspects be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations and tying of all loose ends.”
The Force spokesperson reiterated the commitment of the police to enforcing all laws and implementing anti-crime strategies to curb illegal activities at the nation’s various ports and around the economic hubs in Nigeria.
“The commitment is geared towards stimulating the government’s agenda of quick economic recovery and development in our dear county”, he pointed out.
