The operatives of Department of State Services (DSS) in Katsina state has discovered and recovered more than 1000 bags of rice from the 20 trucks donated to the state by the Nigerian government.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the recovered rice was allegedly diverted by some Katsina State government officials.
The Nigerian government had donated the rice to alleviate the economic hardships currently affecting the country.
NAN reports that an investigation revealed that the 25kg bags of rice were stored at the Central market in Katsina, following a tip-off to the DSS on Wednesday night.
Alhaji Shehu Usman, Chairman of the Market Traders Association, revealed that the rice was brought into the market by someone who was not a trader, emphasizing the need for traders to be cautious about accepting such items for storage.
Meanwhile, In response to the allegations, Mr. Aliyu Abdullahi, Principal Private Secretary to Gov. Dikko Radda, stated that the rice was allocated to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, by the Federal Government.
He further explained that the minister had directed the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure Development, Alhaji Nasiru Lawal, to store the rice, who then decided to keep it in the market for safekeeping. The allocated rice amounted to 1,200 bags as against the 2000 reported by some media.