Three suspected illegal factory owners who specialised in the manufacture of adulterated fertilizer with the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative logo of the Federal Government of Nigeria, (FGN) have been arrested at Dala village via Gwargwaji along the Zaria – Birnin Gwari road in Kaduna State.

A statement on Thursday in Kaduna, by Samuel Aruwan, Spokesperson to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, said Operation Yaki Surveillance Patrol Teams in a joint operation with the Zaria Police Area Command effected the arrest on Tuesday at about 10:00 p.m. following a tipoff.

He said immediately, a team of detectives from Operation Yaki Surveillance Patrol Teams and the Zaria Police Area Command led by Inspector Saleh Yakubu stormed the illegal factory at Dala village where the three principal suspects were arrested.

The Governors Spokesperson gave the name of the suspects as Mohammed Lawal Ashiru alias Baba Karami, Amadu Bello Suleiman and Anas Suleiman.

He said exhibits recovered during the raid included a mixing/sealing machine, 226 bags of pure Indorama Urea Fertilizer, 375 bags of adulterated fertilizer with the label FGN Presidential Fertilizer Initiative carrying the logo of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Other items recovered are 450 empty bags with the same logo, some reasonable quantity of sand used in the adulteration process.

“Meanwhile, the suspects and the items recovered were handed over to the Zaria Area Police Command for further investigation and that the suspects are currently assisting with investigations towards tracing more illegal factories and arresting the manufacturers while investigation into the criminal profiles of the suspects is in progress for possible prosecution,” Aruwan said.

He added that, the governor has directed that the matter be investigated and the suspects charged to court.

The Presidency had in February this year flagged off the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, with the production of more than 4,000 metric tonnes of locally-blended fertilizer in the first week of operation.

The initiative was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2016, to achieve the local production of one million metric tonnes of blended Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, NPK, Fertilizer for the 2017 wet season farming.

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