Police: Our men didn’t steal subsidy palliatives in Katsina — viral video misleading

The Katsina state police command has debunked the claims that its officers were diverting subsidy palliatives. 

In a viral video on social media, a number of police officers were seen beside a patrol vehicle loaded with bags of rice in what looked like an argument with other individuals.

A social media user by the name Optimistic Muhammed who shared the video on the X platform alleged that the police officers were “intercepted with stolen palliatives”.

“Katsina State Governor intercepted Police with stolen palliatives. What a country,” he wrote.

However, in a statement on Sunday, Abubakar Aliyu, the command’s spokesperson, described the video as “misleading” and aimed at tarnishing the image of the police.

He said the bags of rice seen in the video were intercepted and recovered from “some unscrupulous entity” by the police.

“After a thorough investigation, it was revealed that the bags of rice seen in the video on the Police Motor Vehicle were intercepted and recovered from some unscrupulous entity that fraudulently obtained more than the necessary share of the palliatives and returned them to the venue of distribution,” the statement reads.

“The video in question misrepresents the facts and attempts to exploit the good efforts of the officers deployed to the venue to provide support, and security coverage and ensure the smooth run of the event.

“The command wishes to strongly denounce and emphasize that these claims are completely unfounded and baseless.

“The video in question has garnered significant attention on social media platforms, capturing the public’s attention.

“However, we assure the public that the accusations made in this video are grossly misleading and aim to tarnish the integrity of officers and men of the Katsina State Police Command.”

He assured the public that the supervision of the distribution of palliatives is of importance to the police.

He added that the command would ensure that the process is transparent and equitable.

Aliyu urged the public to be cautious of misinformation that could undermine the efforts of the police to serve them and enforce law and order.