The Gombe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) paraded seven suspects on Tuesday for allegedly adulterating fertilizer in the state.
This operation comes in response to ongoing complaints from farmers about the poor performance of fertilizers on their crops.
State Commandant Muhammad Bello led the raid at a factory in the Nasarawa area, condemning the economic sabotage inflicted on unsuspecting farmers.
“Our attention has been drawn to the wicked activities going on here where these people sell sand as fertilizer in this hardship.
“This is simply wickedness; how can you sell sand in the place of fertilizer?” Bello stated.
DAILY POST findings indicate that the suspects reportedly fetched limestone from Katsina State for their operations.
Bello urged farmers to verify products before purchasing and to buy only from authorized dealers to avoid falling victim to such adulterated products.
“Members of the public, especially farmers, must desist from arbitrarily buying fertilizer without checks.
“You should be able to see what you want to buy. You can’t just go anywhere to get fertilizer so that you won’t fall victim to such adulterated products,” he added.
The Plant Manager of the adulterated fertilizer operation, Usman Abubakar, confessed that they had produced no fewer than 1,000 bags.
“We used to get it from Kankara Local Government Area. We used to get red limestone, white limestone, potash, etc. We started production in Kano State but in the last two years, we have been producing in Gombe State. We have produced over 1,000 bags in Gombe State,” Abubakar revealed.