The police in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, have arrested three persons for allegedly defrauding four residents of food grains worth over N81m.

The suspects, arrested for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust were identified as 44-year-old Hajiya Zainab Ahmed of Anguwan Sanusi, Kaduna; Sunday Ezra Haruna, 35; and Ishaku Abdulsalam, 40, of Hotoro Ward in Kano.

The police said the suspect allegedly specialised in disguising themselves as workers of a non-governmental organisation to purchase grains for distribution in internally displaced persons’ camps but without immediate payment of cash.

According to a statement by the Yobe State Police Command’s spokesman, Dungus Abdulkarim, made available to City Round, the arrest followed a complaint received by one Ibrahim Mohammed and one Abubakar Usman of Abasha Word, Damaturu that one Mohammed Modu of Nayi Nawa Ward, Damaturu collected 180 bags of maize valued at N7.4m, which Modu could not pay for within the agreed number of days.

“The suspects specialised in luring unsuspecting victims mostly farmers and marketers to a contract to buy food items by disguising and presenting themselves as NGO workers, deceiving the victims to buy without cash in hand as well as demanding large quantities of their goods and with false promises to pay after supplying to a particular destination in Borno, Yobe or any place of choice with the pretext of donating the grains to an IDP camp.

“After a supply, they will request the victims to wait for their payment, but later sell the grains at a giveaway price without the victim(s) knowledge and run away with the proceeds leaving their victim(s) in shallow anticipation. They (the suspects) thereby sever all communications with the victims,” the state read in part.

The statement listed the four persons defrauded as Mohammed Modu of Nayi Nawa ward, who allegedly lost N7.4m worth of maize; and Ibrahim Mohammed and Abubakar Usman of Abasha Ward, who allegedly lost N22m worth of maize to the suspects.

Others were Alhaji Arma Yau Yahaya of Bauchi State, N29.995m worth of rice; and Ishaku Salihu Chaptu of Mangu, Plateau State, who allegedly lost N22m worth of maize.

Noted