Four arrested for allegedly diverting rice meant for IDPs

The Katsina Police Command on Saturday said it had arrested four persons for allegedly diverting tonnes of rice meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East Zone.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Salisu Agaisa, told newsmen in Katsina that the suspects had claimed to be customs agents.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government had directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to distribute rice it seized from smugglers to the various IDPs camps.

The police spokesman said the suspects were arrested after they offered to sell the commodity to one of the prominent persons in the state.

“One of the suspects had called the prominent person through a mobile phone that they have five trucks of the diverted rice for sale.

“Our investigation also shows that the suspects had concluded arrangement to sell a bag of rice to that person at the rate of N12, 500 per bag,’’ he said.

Agaisa said the suspects were later arrested at Liyafa Palace Hotel in Katsina where they had lodged for 21 days.

He said the suspects would be prosecuted after investigations were completed.

Katsina Records 30 Rape Cases Monthly – CP

No fewer than 30 girls are raped by men old enough to be their fathers in Katsina State monthly in the recent past, the Commissioner of Police in Katsina, Abdullahi Usman has disclosed.
Briefing newsmen yesterday in the state police command headquarters, Usman lamented that most of the victims were under aged girls, particularly in rural communities.
He frowned that the police were having tough time arresting the menace due to the reluctance of parents and relatives of most victims to cooperate with detectives in their investigations.

The CP therefore cautioned parents to monitor the movement of their young girls as the police perfect measures to arrest the trend.
He also disclosed that the command in synergy with other security agencies recovered 20 Dane guns, three AK 47 rifles, five pistols, 85 assorted live ammunition and 49 expended shells among other dangerous weapons last month from suspected criminals.
On cattle rusting, Usman revealed that no fewer than 2, 151 animals were recovered from suspected rustlers in nine local government areas that are most vulnerable to cattle rustling.
Meanwhile, the CP had inaugurated an eminent persons’ forum as part of community policing strategy to help in mitigating security challenges in the state.
The forum comprising retired civil servants, religious leaders, civil society groups, traditional and community leaders would among others assist the police in mediation and social control during security challenges in any part of the state.