The Gombe State Police Command has arrested Mohammed Majidadi, the village head of Garin Majidadi in Kumo Akko Local Government Area, for allegedly stealing and selling a community transformer.

Alongside Majidadi, the police also arrested Abdullahi Panda, a councillor representing Kumo East, and Muhammad Sani of Sarkin Yaki Quarters.

Police spokesperson Buhari Abdullahi said, “Credible intelligence reports from the Akko Division led to the arrest and the recovery of the stolen transformer from Garin Majidadi village.”

“It was discovered during the investigation that the transformer was sold to Bello Ardo Kumo at N1.5 million,” he added.

The village head, Mohammed Majidadi, explained the situation to reporters, saying, “The transformer had been faulty for over 10 years with some of its parts stolen by miscreants. We held a meeting with the community and we all agreed to sell the transformer and use the money to sink boreholes. However, we were in the process of finding a buyer when the Police arrested us.”

Councillor Abdullahi Panda, however, denied authorizing the sale. “I instructed the village head to put the plan in writing and inform the district head,” Panda claimed.

The police are continuing their investigation into the incident.