Photo: 55-year-old foodstuff dealer arrested with 250 cartridges
The suspect is identified as a 55-year-old foodstuff trader based
in Jalingo, Taraba State who traveled regularly to
Onitsha to buy food items which he sells at a market in Jalingo. He told
Daily Trust that officials of the NDLEA intercepted the vehicle
he was traveling in at Alaide in Gwer East Local Government Area of
Benue State.
"I was returning from Onitsha where I went to buy foodstuff which I sell
in Taraba when the NDLEA officers arrested me in Alaide with cartons of
cartridges which some vigilante groups asked me to buy for them," the
suspect said.
The suspect, a father of five, also said he was diabetic, pointing at a
deep wound on his feet, expressed regret for his action. "I’m so
embarrassed. My wife and children are not happy with me."
The suspect added that it was the first time he ventured into the arms
business which he procured from Onitsha market at the rate of N45, 000
after buying food stuff for his main business.
The NDLEA State Commander, Florence Ezeonye, said the suspect would be
handed over to the appropriate security agency. On how the suspect was
caught, Ms Ezeonye explained that her eagle-eyed officials on
stop-and-search duty
at the Alaide area nabbed the foodstuff dealer after they
suspected the contents of the cartons arranged under the seat of the
bus. She also revealed that the suspect had a mixed parentage - an Igbo
father and a Jukun
mother - so he could speak Hausa and Igbo languages fluently, an
advantage which he used to ward-off security suspicions at check points.
"My officers noticed that he was pushing the cartons which he hid under
the vehicle seats with his feet as they were searching luggage and when
they insisted on knowing what was concealed in the cartons, he alighted
and started engaging them in Hausa language. The suspect further tried to convince them that he only supplies soup
ingredients to customers in Taraba but it turned out that he was
carrying arms. My men found out that 250 pieces of cartridges were
concealed in the 15 cartons belonging to the suspect." she said.
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