Gov Sule commends DSS for arrest of palliative thieves

Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, has commended operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) for the swift arrest of officials of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) for stealing palliative items.

The governor said the arrest of NASEMA officials and their collaborators by the secret police was a welcome development.

It was earlier reported that the DSS operatives arrested officials of NASEMA for diverting palliative items meant for vulnerable people in Nasarawa State that had found their way to the market in Lafia, the state capital.

Gov Sule, in a statement issued in Lafia on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Peter Ahemba, said: “It is unfortunate that, while the federal and state governments are working relentlessly to alleviate the hardship being faced by the victims, some government officials will shamelessly collude with criminal elements and get involved in the diversion and sales of the materials.”

He noted how some staff of the agency were allegedly involved with a nationwide syndicate that specialises in diverting relief materials donated by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and victims of floods in the state.