(Ali Abare – Gombe)
Operatives of the Gombe Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said they have arrested the Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Danlami Arab Rukuje, over alleged involvement in the diversion of materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The graft agency stated this in a statement issued to journalists, on Wednesday, adding that the arrest of the SEMA executive secretary followed a tip-off received by the Intelligence and Special Operations Section (ISOS) of the office.
It listed the materials allegedly diverted to include cans of paints and bags of cement meant as building materials donated to the state by the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiatives (PCNI), which EFCC said never made it to the IDP camps as investigations revealed that the items were, instead, diverted to other areas including markets, for sale.
“A team of operatives acting on the information immediately swung into action, and located 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,” the EFCC said.
The agency further disclosed that investigations also led to the arrest of a staff of the state’s Fertilizer Grinding Plant, Mu’azu Suleman KT, with the suspects to be charged to court, as soon as investigations are concluded.
“They were however released on bail to reliable sureties,” the statement added.