The Eastern Port Police Command has arrested five suspects in connection with diverting 1,840 bags of wheat belonging to the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) and recovered about 1,238 bags of wheat in Port-Hacourt.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the arrests were made on February 6.
The police spokesman said 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 identified the arrested suspects as Umar Hashim, Edidiong Umoh, Udah Stanley, Abubakar Jariri and Yunusa Babangida.
He said the policemen recovered 1,238 stolen bags of wheat along with the truck and a bus used in carrying out the crime.
“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 said.
According to the FPRO, the arrests and recovery reaffirm the police force’s commitment to enforcing all laws and employing anti-crime strategies to curb illegal activities at the nation’s various ports and around the economic hubs in Nigeria.
He added that this commitment is geared towards stimulating the government’s agenda of quick economic recovery and development in Nigeria.
He said the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun has re-emphasised 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 severely dealt with in line with extant laws.
Adejobi said the IGP has therefore ordered that the suspects be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations and tying of all loose ends.
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