Men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Oyo State Command, have arrested three officials of the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Agency for allegedly stealing 70 bags of maize meant for distribution as COVID-19 palliatives.

The Commandant of the NSCDC in the state, Iskilu Akinsanya, stated this while parading the suspects on Thursday at the command’s headquarters at Agodi, Ibadan.

According to Akinsanya, the suspects were arrested on Wednesday around 9pm at the state secretariat, Agodi, while trying to load the stolen items.

The commandant said the NSCDC got a tip-off that some people were in the habit of breaking into the government secretariat’s warehouse to loot items.

He said, “Our efforts yielded results yesterday (Wednesday) around 9pm when the suspects were arrested while loading the items which were meant for the people in the state as palliatives.

“This has been happening for a long time and we have been trying to pin them down. This is what we have been talking about; the government meant well for the society, but there are some unscrupulous people who want to truncate government’s efforts.”

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One of the suspects, who did not disclose his name, said an official of the State Emergency Management Agency in charge of the palliatives gave the items to them.

He admitted that it was not the first time that they had been given the farm produce.

Another suspect, a 56-year-old driver and father of four, said he was not aware that the items were stolen, adding that he only obeyed the instruction given by an officer who asked him to help carry the items.

“The officer was one of those on the patrol team that I usually meet on the road,” the driver added.