The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria has challenged Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, to provide evidence for his allegation that scrap metal scavengers stole electrical cables purchased for a N3bn electricity distribution line.
The association’s Deputy National President, Aminu Soja, made the demand in a statement issued on Monday in Kano and made available to our correspondent, questioning the circumstances surrounding the alleged theft and the evidence linking scrap dealers to the incident.
On Sunday, October 18, The PUNCH reported that Zulum said metal scavengers looted all the wires purchased for a N3bn electricity distribution line linking Damaturu, Yobe State, to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
He said the incident, alongside other security concerns, informed the state government’s decision to ban the scrap metal trade in Borno State.
Zulum said the state lost metals, electrical materials and public infrastructure worth billions of naira to scavengers, locally known as Ajakuta, prompting the government to ban scrap metal trading over security concerns.
We spent more than N3 billion to connect an electricity distribution line from Damaturu to Maiduguri, but unfortunately we lost all the wires to the metal scavenging activities,” Zulum said.
He added, “We have security intelligence that even the insurgents use your platforms to sell looted metals. So, no responsible government will ignore such intelligence just to be politically correct.”
Zulum had said hundreds of scrap metal operators had been killed while scavenging in villages that were not safe for civilian activities before the ban.
He urged operators to submit proposals on how they could continue their businesses without contributing to insecurity or damaging public infrastructure.
The governor further granted a waiver allowing operators to evacuate stocks accumulated before the ban, at designated locations, in a move intended to ease the impact of the restriction on legitimate businesses.
However, NASWDEN questioned how the state government reached its conclusions despite the ban on scrap metal activities in Borno State, which he said had been in place for more than three years.
“Identify the contractor responsible for the project, state the year it was executed, confirm whether the cables were supplied and installed, and disclose when the alleged theft occurred.
“Governor Zulum must not use scrap dealers as scapegoats to conceal the government’s failures in providing basic social amenities and infrastructure. You cannot accuse an entire industry without presenting credible evidence,” Soja stated.
The NASWDEN official said the association had no links with Boko Haram or any form of terrorism, describing it as a legitimate body representing law-abiding scrap and waste dealers rather than criminal organisations.
Soja, however, urged the Borno State Government to provide verifiable evidence and identify those responsible if a crime had occurred, warning against generalised allegations against legitimate business operators.