Nigeria Police Force have 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 Harcourt.
Force PRO, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said that about 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.
He said the suspects were intercepted and apprehended by the operatives of the Nigeria Police attached to the Eastern Port on February 6.
The suspects were Umar Hashim, Edidiong Umoh, Udah Stanley, Abubakar Jariri and Yunusa Babangida.
Other exhibits recovered along with the 1,238 stolen bags of wheat, include the truck and a bus used in carrying out the crime.
The Force PRO 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.
Meanwhile, the inspector-general of police, IGP Kayode 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.
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