The police in Gombe State have displayed the village head of Garin Majidadi and a councillor from Kumo East, both in Akko Local Government Area, for allegedly stealing and selling a community transformer.
Muhammad Majidadi, the village head, along with councillor Abdullahi M. Panda and another person named Muhammad Sani from Sarkin Yaki Quarters, were caught for the alleged theft and sale of the community transformer.
The police public relations officer, ASP Buhari Abdullahi, revealed that the arrests were made based on reliable information from the Akko division. They also recovered the stolen transformer in Garin Majidadi village. During the investigation, it was found that the transformer had been sold to Bello Ardo Kumo for N1.5 million.
ASP Buhari confirmed that the transformer is now back in their custody, but the investigation is still ongoing. He assured that once the investigation is complete, the suspects will be taken to court.
In a conversation with journalists, the village head, Muhammad Majidadi, said the transformer had been broken and unused for over ten years, with most parts already stolen by vandals. He mentioned that they had informed their district head and were advised to consult the councillor before selling the remaining parts of the transformer.
“We had a meeting with the community and decided that since most of the important parts were stolen, it would be better to sell it and use the money to dig boreholes. But, while we were looking for a buyer, the police arrested us,” Majidadi explained.
The councillor, Abdullahi Panda, denied giving the village head permission to sell the transformer. He admitted that Majidadi had informed him about the plan to sell it, but he instructed him to document it and notify the district head, advising them to wait until Monday. “He couldn’t wait and went ahead to sell it; that is what I know about it,” Panda stated.
