According to the Bauchi State Police Command, a truck carrying refined iodised salt that was suspected of being diverted was successfully intercepted.
Ahmed Wakil, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, said in a press release on Thursday that two people were also apprehended as a result of the operation.
He explained, “On 30th April 2025, at about 1700 hours, operatives from the Alkeleri Divisional Police Headquarters acted on reliable intelligence, conducting a stop-and-search operation that led to the interception of a flat-topped truck trailer (registration number BAG 283 XF) carrying over one thousand bags of 25 kilograms each of iodised salt.
“The total estimated value of the confiscated salt amounts to approximately ten million two hundred thousand Naira (₦10,200,000). While the driver escaped the scene, the two suspects—Sadik Jidda, aged 20 years old, from Borno State, and Ibrahim Ahmad, aged 19 years old, from Kaduna State were apprehended within the vehicle.”
According to Wakil, preliminary enquiries revealed that the suspects were recognised as conductors and that the driver, who is still at large, had told them of their intended destination in Alkeleri, Bauchi State.
He said that the command is currently implementing extra procedures to seek and apprehend the driver and uncover other circumstances surrounding the incident.
In the same vein, the command also disclosed a separate operation conducted on the same day where a 28-year-old individual, Jibrin Ali from Zandar, Niger Republic, was arrested in the Yankari Game Reserve, Alkeleri LGA, Bauchi State.
The PPRO revealed that Jibrin was found impersonating military personnel and displaying suspicious behaviour in an area known for bandit activity.
“Detectives from the Alkeleri Divisional Police Headquarters intervened during a routine patrol in collaboration with local security outfits and facilitated his arrest, which was met with some resistance.
“Upon interrogation, he could not satisfactorily explain his presence in the forest, raising concerns regarding his potential involvement with local criminal elements,” the statement added.
Wakil hinted that the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, while commending the diligence and professionalism demonstrated by the officers involved, has directed that both cases be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for more comprehensive investigations.
He said that Bauchi State Command is still dedicated to putting the safety and security of our communities first and values the assistance of local security personnel in these efforts.
