SEMA Officials held for Theft

Operatives of the Gombe Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested the Secretary to Gombe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Danlami Arab Rukuje, for alleged diversion of materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The materials, which included cans of paints and bags of cement donated to the state by PCNI, never made it to the IDP camps. They were, instead, diverted to other areas including markets, for sale. Acting on a tip-off, investigators located the shops where the materials were being sold. The Gombe State Fertilizer Grinding Plant where some of the materials were kept was also raided. A storekeeper at the state’s emergency agency, Isa Garba, was subsequently arrested. Further investigations led to the arrest of a staff of the state’s Fertilizer Grinding Plant, Mu’azu Suleman KT. The suspects will be arraigned as soon as investigations are concluded. They have been released on bail.