The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested 42 suspects for alleged theft, vandalism, impersonation and other offences in Borno.
The Commandant of the Corps, Mr Musa Faruk stated this while parading the suspects, on Friday in Maiduguri.
He said operatives of the Corps arrested 11 suspects for illegal metal scrap scavenging in contravention of the state bylaws and five others apprehended for impersonation of police and military personnel.
Faruk said the operatives recovered army and police identification cards from the suspects.
The Commandant said that the Corps also arrested seven suspects for alleged forgery of Borno government palliative token in Dikwa and Mafa Local Government Areas of the state.
“The state governor in providing succor to the less privileged and vulnerable population offered certain palliatives in cash and in kinds in various locations within the state.
“Some scrupulous elements are engaged in forging those cards thereby taking undue advantage of the beneficiaries of the pilliatives.
“The suspects were found with 50 fake palliative tokens which they sale at N11,000 each to the unsuspected victims.
“The public is advised to desist from patronising such elements as both the seller and buyer are committing offense of cheating, mischief and forgery in the eyes of the law,” he said.
He said the Corps also apprehended some suspects for alleged vandalism of armoured cables, illegal mining and fake employment scam.
Faruk said that preliminary investigations showed that scammers carried out their nefarious activities in connivance with its personnel, adding that an erring personnel had prosecuted and convicted.
He said the command also arrested 16 other suspects for vagabonds, possession of dangerous weapons and belonging to a notorious squad known as “Marlians”.
“These men were arrested for act of vagabonds, this implies that they are dissolute, socially maladjusted, and thereby causing mayhem within the society mostly at night. We have arrested them.
“Within these set of persons were menacing and disturbing the peace in the metropolis. We don’t intend to witness another tendency toward Boko Haram,”he said.
