In a significant move to combat artificial price increases, the Kano State Public Compliant and Anti-Corruption Commission sealed off more than 10 warehouses on Sunday.
Commission Chairman, Bar. Muhuyi Rimingado, led an unscheduled inspection of the Dawanau grain market in Kano, targeting warehouses suspected of hoarding essential commodities like grains, millets, sugar, and spaghetti.
The sealing off of these warehouses followed an intelligence report and the acquisition of search warrants from the court.
Rimingado emphasized that the operation became necessary to curb the relentless surge in the prices of essential commodities, aggravating the challenges faced by Nigerians.
“We started last Thursday, and we have made a significant impact towards stopping the incessant rise in the price of essential commodities,” stated Rimingado.
He pointed out the success of their efforts in halting the continuous price hikes, particularly highlighting the steep increase in rice prices from N52,000 to N61,000 within a week.
During the inspection, Rimingado expressed concerns over the claim that some warehouses were operating under the guise of the World Food Program Store, questioning the potential negative impact on the country’s food supply.
The Commission vowed to take decisive actions, including arrests, against those responsible for hoarding essential goods worth hundreds of millions of Naira.
Rimingado outlined the three-pronged approach the Commission would adopt: taking over the warehouses, stationing operatives on-site, and inviting owners for further investigation that may lead to legal proceedings.
In response to claims by a warehouse officer that the commodities were meant for a United Nations contract, the Chairman asserted that investigations would reveal the truth.
Meanwhile, the market leader of Singer market, Alh. Muhammadu Adakawa, welcomed the anti-graft agency’s intervention, expressing solidarity with their efforts to address soaring prices imposed by certain companies.
Adakawa clarified that market traders were wrongly accused of hoarding and pledged cooperation with the Commission to rectify the situation.
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