The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Zone 12 Command, Kano, has honoured a volunteer staff, Mr Nura Abdullahi, for returning more than N20 million forgotten by a co-passenger in a commercial tricycle.

The Zonal Commander, ACG Amos Abiodun-Taiwo, while presenting a commendation letter to Abdullahi on Friday in Kano, described his action as “a rare display of honesty, integrity and professionalism.”

Abiodun-Taiwo said Abdullahi found the money in a tricycle after a co-passenger, identified as Alhaji Mustafa, from Katsina State, mistakenly left the bag behind while alighting.

According to him, Abdullahi used the last dialled number on his mobile phone after lending it to the owner moments earlier to trace and contact the rightful owner of the money.

“It is very rare in our days to find someone who would return such a huge amount of money, especially under the current economic hardship.

“Nura is not even a regular staff; He is a volunteer and could not boast of N20,000 in his account. Yet, he chose honesty,” the commander said.

Abiodun-Taiwo added that after verifying the incident, the command reported the matter to the Commandant-General, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, who directed that Abdullahi be celebrated as an example of integrity within the corps.

“This young man is a good ambassador of his family, the NSCDC, and Nigeria at large. If this were something negative, social media would have been awash with it. Positive deeds like this deserve equal publicity,” he said.

He appealed to the public to emulate Abdullahi’s sincerity, stressing that integrity remains valuable regardless of economic challenges.

“It pays to be honest. If he had taken the money, he would not be enjoying peace today. Parents should train their children well, and young people should uphold such moral values,” Abiodun-Taiwo added.

The commander assured all that Abdullahi would be “handsomely rewarded” for his exemplary conduct.

Similarly, in 2024, PUNCH Online reported that a woman, Malama Abdulkadir-Yanmama, was rewarded by the Katsina Government with N500,000 for returning N748,320, which was meant for the Federal Government’s Home Grown School feeding programme in the state. (NAN)