Seven suspects were paraded by the Gombe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in adulterating fertilizer in the state.
In response to continuous complaints from farmers regarding the underperformance of fertilizers on their crops, this operation was conducted.
Commandant Muhammad Bello, leading the raid at a factory in the Nasarawa area, strongly condemned the economic sabotage being committed against unsuspecting farmers.
“Our attention has been drawn to the unethical activities taking place here, where individuals are deceitfully selling sand as fertilizer during these difficult times,” remarked Bello.
Reports suggest that the suspects sourced limestone from Katsina State for their activities.
Bello emphasized the importance for farmers to validate products before making purchases and advised them to only buy from authorized vendors to avoid falling prey to such tampered products.
“Members of the public, particularly farmers, should refrain from purchasing fertilizer indiscriminately without prior verification,” he stated.
“You should visually inspect the product you intend to purchase. Recklessly buying fertilizer from just anywhere could make you vulnerable to such falsified products,” he added.
During the operation, the Plant Manager of the adulterated fertilizer facility, Usman Abubakar, admitted that they had manufactured more than 1,000 bags.
“We sourced materials from Kankara Local Government Area, including red limestone, white limestone, potash, and others. While our operations initially began in Kano State, we have been operating in Gombe State for the past two years, producing over 1,000 bags,” disclosed Abubakar.