Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have allegedly uncovered a cache of relief materials worth millions of naira during a raid on a private warehouse in the Sintali Ward area of Jalingo Local Government Area, Taraba State.
The warehouse was said to contain relief items reportedly donated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) to the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA) for distribution to vulnerable residents across the state.
Sources said the operation also led to the arrest of the warehouse owner and three other suspects believed to be connected to the alleged diversion of the relief materials.
A resident of Sintali Ward, Hon. Inusa, confirmed the development to our correspondent, saying the DSS operatives stormed the warehouse late on Sunday after receiving information from residents.
According to him, a large quantity of relief materials was recovered during the operation.
Inusa, who identified himself as a relative of the warehouse owner, disclosed that four people were taken into custody, including the owner of the facility.
He further claimed that the operatives evacuated the recovered items using more than 20 Hilux vehicles before transporting them to the DSS office in Jalingo for further investigation.
“The DSS officers have arrested the owner of the warehouse and three other rice sellers in the Jalingo market in connection to the seizure of the relief materials belonging to the SEMA.
“The whole saga started when residents living within Sintali area alerted the DSS they have noticed movement of items being taken into a private warehouse in the middle of the night.”
The relief materials were reportedly donated to support victims of fire outbreaks, floods, windstorms, vulnerable households and other disaster-affected communities across Taraba State.
However, it remains unclear whether the items were being temporarily stored in the private warehouse on behalf of TSEMA or had been sold to the warehouse owner.
Findings by our correspondent indicate that TSEMA operates at least three official warehouses within Jalingo where humanitarian supplies are usually kept pending distribution.
Efforts to obtain the agency’s official response were unsuccessful.
The Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA), Dr. Echuseh Audu, neither answered phone calls nor responded to WhatsApp and text messages sent by our correspondent seeking clarification on the incident.
As of the time of filing this report, the DSS had yet to issue an official statement on the raid or the arrests, while investigations into the matter are said to be ongoing.
