The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria has challenged the Borno State Government to provide evidence linking scrap dealers to the alleged theft of electrical cables worth billions of naira from a power distribution project.
The association also demanded details of the contractor responsible for the project, the year the cables were supplied and installed, and when the alleged theft occurred.
The challenge followed Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum’s claim that metal scavengers stole all the wires purchased for a N3bn electricity distribution line linking Damaturu, Yobe State, to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Zulum said the incident, alongside other security concerns, informed the state government’s decision to ban scrap metal trading in Borno.
However, the association’s Deputy National President, Aminu Soja, questioned how the government established the alleged theft and the involvement of scrap dealers, particularly as the ban on the trade had reportedly been in place for more than three years.
In a statement issued in Kano on Monday, Soja called for verifiable evidence to support the governor’s claim, warning against blaming an entire industry without identifying those responsible.
He also denied any links between the association and Boko Haram or other terrorist groups, describing its members as legitimate business operators.
Zulum had said security agencies possessed intelligence indicating that insurgents used scrap metal dealers as channels for selling looted materials.
The governor also argued that the trade posed security risks and had contributed to the destruction of public infrastructure. He said hundreds of scavengers had been killed while operating in villages considered unsafe for civilian activities.
The governor maintained that the ban was intended to protect public assets and improve security rather than deprive operators of their livelihoods.
Despite the restriction, he granted scrap dealers a waiver to evacuate stocks accumulated before the ban at designated locations.
He also asked the operators to submit proposals on how they could continue their businesses without contributing to insecurity or damaging public infrastructure.
Soja urged the Borno government to identify those responsible for the alleged theft if a crime had occurred and to make its evidence public.
He warned that generalised accusations against scrap dealers could unfairly damage legitimate businesses, insisting that allegations of criminal conduct should be supported by credible evidence.
Discussion0