TheCable

Abayomi Shogunle, head of public complaints rapid response unit (PCRRU), says AFEX Nigeria had no evidence to prove ownership of the maize taken away during a search of their warehouse by the police.

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, and Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture, had accused the police of raiding the warehouse and carting away maize worth N85 million.

“Sad AFEX Nigeria ransacked by police for no reason. AFEX is a first exchange doing so well to support farmers,” Adesina wrote on Twitter.

But Shogunle told NAN on Sunday that the police had a valid warrant to search the warehouse.

He said Ibrahim Idris, inspector general of police, had directed Usman Abdullahi, commissioner of police in Katsina, to investigate the allegations.

According to Shogunle, a group of traders had petitioned the CP of Katsina on May 17, alleging that Diversified Consulting Ltd. represented by Sani Usman and Haruna Abubakar, bought grains worth N66 million and promised to pay in two to four days in January.

“From this time up till May, they were unable to get their money after being paid N10 million by the company leaving a balance of N56 million. Under the Penal Code in operation in northern Nigeria, such conduct constitutes a criminal offence as stipulated by the Penal Code.”

He said a suspect, who was arrested and convicted, had confessed to accepting the grains.

He said the suspect further confessed that they were unable to pay because the managing director of the company was serving a jail term in Kirikiri prison.

He said afer the convict confessed that the goods were taken to Kano, Jos and Zaria, the court issued a search warrant for the police to recover the items.

“The police went to the warehouse based on the confession of the suspect in the court and the complainants identified their produce,” he said.

“Upon reporting to the court, it gave an order to release the produce on bond to the rightful owners who happened to be the complainants in the case.

“One good thing about produce is that group of cooperative societies have markings on their produce for easy identification. Throughout our interaction with AFEX, it has not produced any document to show that the produce belonged to them.

“AFEX is yet to produce any document to show the source of those products whether they bought them from somebody or group of persons or evidence of transfer of money to show they bought it from somebody.”

Shogunle said the cases of the other set of suspects were pending in another court where they also confessed to the police that they collected some produce from the complainants.