By HABIBU HARISU

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sokoto zonal office, has arrested a POS operator and two employees of Union Bank over alleged unlawful withdrawal of N1.2 million school feeding programme funds.

The Zonal Head of EFCC, Mr Abdullahi Lawal, told newsmen on Friday in Sokoto that the commission had started investigation of 3,000 cooks under the Federal Government’s Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) in Sokoto and Kebbi states.

Lawal said that some Local Government Education Secretaries were allegedly involved in the fraud in the school feeding programme, especially in remote areas.

He said the suspects arrested are Zaharadeen Ibrahim, the POS operator; Ngozi Agbonjari and Michael Alabi, both staff of Union Bank in Sokoto.

Lawal said the suspects cloned ATM cards belonging to Fatima Ahmadu and Sadiya Bello and over a period of time withdrew the money totaling N1.2 million at Gwadabawa and Bodinga local government areas.

The EFCC Zonal Head said that the commission had recovered N652,000 from Agbonjari and Alabi and was making efforts to get N553,000 from Ibrahim along with the ATM cards.

He said that operatives of the commission also arrested one Bello Umar of Sokoto Central Market, who allegedly sold a non-existing land located at Kalambaina in Sokoto town to one Abdurahman Abdurahman for N480,000.

The Zonal Head added that the commission also arrested one Ogunsina Micheal and Abdulwahab Mayowa of old Airport road Sokoto over alleged fraudulent withdrawal of N47,000 from one Paulina Asogba’s Zenith bank account.

He said investigation revealed that Asogba gave her account details to Mayowa to deduct N4,000 from her account but the suspects conspired and transferred N47,000.

Lawal said that the suspects confessed to the crimes and they would soon be charged to court.

He cautioned people against disclosing their bank account details to anyone to avoid being duped. (NAN)