Troops of the Nigerian Army have arrested eight members of a syndicate smuggling fuel from the country to the Ambazonian rebels in the Republic of Cameroon.
The army in a post on its official X Handle on Friday said the syndicate was nabbed in a significant covert operation along the Abong-Kurmi Baissa Road in Taraba State.
The suspects are – Jafaru Adamu (32), Auwal Haruna (34), Umar Dahiru, Mubarak Abdullahi (20), Saidu Musa (26), Bashiru Ibrahim (18), Danlami Yahuaza (19), and Abubakar Abdullahi (19).
The army added that the suspects were caught near the border with a large quantity of fuel.
The post read: “During preliminary investigation, the culprits confessed to smuggling and selling fuel to the Cameroonian Ambazonian rebels, who are prohibited from entering Nigeria to purchase the product directly.
“The suspects revealed that they have previously bought fuel from Gassol and Bali local government areas of Taraba at the rate of ₦950 per litre.
“However, they discovered that in Takum LGA the fuel was sold at ₦800 per litre, prompting them to source for the product in Takum.
“The suspects were traveling in three J5 vehicles with 605 jerry cans, each with a capacity of 40 litres, totaling 24,200 litres of fuel at the time of their arrest.”
The army added that the fuel is valued at ₦800 per litre and worth ₦19.3 million.
“Further investigation led to the identification of other members of the smuggling syndicate, including Alhaji Abdulmumini, Jafaru Adamu, Babilu Zubairu, Sule Abong, and Mark Akawu.
“Akawu is allegedly the chairman of the syndicate based in Abong, a border community between the Kurmi local government area of Taraba and the Republic of Cameroon.
“This operation marks a significant step in curbing the illegal supply of resources to terrorist groups and enhancing regional security,” it stated.
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