Troops from the Forward Operations Base (FOB) in Yobe have apprehended a 43-year-old man found in possession of 19 seed-planting machines.
The planters were among items that the state government recently distributed to farmers for free under its Agriculture Empowerment Programme.
This was contained in a statement by retired Brig.- Gen. Dahiru Abdulsalam, Special Adviser to Gov. Mai Mala Buni on Security Matters in Damaturu on Tuesday.
He said the man was arrested around 12:10 a.m. on Tuesday with 19 seed-planting machines concealed in a blue 18-seater bus on the Potiskum to Gombe Road. According to Abdulsalam, the items, suspected to be for the Yobe State Agricultural Empowerment Programme, were found in the bus with registration number KTG 449 YG. The suspect, who could not provide proof of being a program beneficiary, claimed he bought the machines for N50,000 each from someone named Alhaji Babaji in Damaturu and was transporting them to resell in Dutse, Jigawa. The suspect and the equipment will be handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for legal action. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) notes that Governor Buni has instructed security forces to arrest anyone moving the equipment out of the state.
