Police in Damaturu, Yobe State, have arrested three suspects for allegedly defrauding four persons about N80 million worth food grains.
The suspects, arrested for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, are: Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, 44, of Anguwan Sanusi, Kaduna; Sunday Ezra Haruna, 35; and Ishaku Abdulsalam, 40, of Hotoro Ward, Kano.
The three suspects allegedly specialise in disguising as workers of an NGO, buying grains for distribution in IDP camps, but without immediate payment of cash on the agreement that payment would be made later.
A statement by the Yobe State Police Command spokesman, DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, said the arrest followed a complaint received by one Ibrahim Mohammed and one Abubakar Usman of Abasha Word, Damaturu that one Mohammed Modu of Nayi Nawa Ward, Damaturu collected 180 bags of maize valued at N7,400.000.00, which Modu could not pay for within the agreed number of days.
Investigations, according to the statement, led to the discovery of three more similar frauds by the suspects.
“The suspects specialised in luring unsuspecting Victims mostly Farmers and Marketers to a contract to buy food Items by disguising and presenting themselves as NGO workers, deceiving the victims to buy without cash in hand as well as demanding large quantities of their goods and with false promises to pay after supplying to a particular destination in Borno, Yobe or any place of choice with the pretext of donating the grains to an IDP Camp,” the statement disclosed.
“After a supply, they will request the victims to wait for their payment, but later sell the grains at a giveaway price without the Victim(s) knowledge and cart away with the proceeds leaving their Victim(s) in shallow anticipation,” the statement said, adding, “They (the suspects) thereby sever all communications with the victims.”
The statement listed the four persons defrauded as: Mohammed Modu of Nayi Nawa ward, defrauded of N7,400.000.00 worth of maize;
Ibrahim Mohammeed and Abubakar Usman of Abasha Ward, defrauded of 22,000,000.00 worth of maize; Alh. Arma Yau Yahaya of Bauchi State, defrauded of N29,995.000.00 worth of rice; and Ishaku Salihu Chaptu of Mangu Plateau State, defrauded of N22,000.000.00 worth of maize.
