NSCDC busts syndicate diverting, adulterating fertilizers

According to the spokesman of the NSCDC, Afolabi Babawale, the diverted products are property of the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) but were diverted, bagged and being sold by the saboteurs to unsuspected buyers and farmers at the rate of 25,900 naira per bag.

“On the 2nd September 2023 at about 1720hrs, the commandant general’s special intelligence squad, acting on a credible intelligence busted two separate locations; No 3, Dogon Dutse area, Jos North and Kasuwa Kara area, Bukuru all in Jos Plateau State and succeeded in recovering large quantities of diverted bags of Granular Ammonium Sulphate (GAS).

“The products are meant to be used for the production of fertilizer and to be sold at a subsidized rate to the farmers in the federal government’s bid to sustain the national food security programme and encourage food production in the country,” Babawale narrated.

He explained further that five suspects were arrested from the two separate locations and many bags of different fertilizer products were recovered.

The arrested suspects are Ibrahim Muhammed, 63; Ladan Anas, 26; Umar Said Muhammed, 37; Hambale Usman, 46; and Junaid Ubale, 30.

Among the exhibit recovered are 740 bags of granular ammonium sulphate, 24 bags of Urea Dangote fertilizers, 65 bags of indorama fertilizers, 130 bags of NPK Barbados fertilizers, 29 cartons of ultrachol chemical, 109 (20) litres of knapsack spraying pump among other items.

Babawale also disclosed that the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has been duly briefed and has ordered the immediate transfer of the five suspects and the case file to the national headquarters of the NSCDC while further investigation is ongoing.