The Department of State Services has arrested a warehouse owner and three other people in Taraba State over the alleged diversion of humanitarian relief materials donated by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.
The arrests took place at a private warehouse in Sintali Ward, Jalingo Local Government Area, where a truckload of supplies, including rice and white beans, had been offloaded. Sources familiar with the incident said the materials were meant for distribution to poor and vulnerable residents across the state.
Video footage shows utility vehicles believed to belong to the DSS, including Hilux trucks, at the location as bags of the relief items were being loaded for removal. Some of the bags carried the inscription “Not for Sale.” Sources at the scene said the vehicles belonged to the DSS and that the materials were being taken to the agency’s headquarters in Jalingo.
The action followed the discovery of the items at the private warehouse after allegations emerged that the executive secretary of the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Echuseh Audu, had diverted relief materials and used funds intended for humanitarian purposes to pay her daughter’s medical bills in Abuja.
The incident comes months after TSEMA, working with the National Emergency Management Agency, officially launched the distribution of the KSRelief materials on June 20, 2026, in Jalingo. The supplies were earmarked for victims of fire disasters, flooding and windstorms, as well as vulnerable households across the state.
At the flag-off ceremony, Audu thanked King Salman and the relief centre for the intervention and assured stakeholders that the agency would maintain transparency and fairness in the distribution process. She also commended Governor Agbu Kefas for his support for vulnerable citizens.
Audu later faced scrutiny over financial transactions linked to a business associated with her, including payments totalling ₦44 million to a hospital in Abuja and transfers involving the Taraba State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project Drawdown Account. She had earlier presented herself to security agencies after claims circulated that rice and groundnut oil meant for vulnerable residents had been diverted. She denied the allegations and called for an investigation.
Financial records show transactions involving accounts linked to Audu and a business named Katuka’s Kitchen. One transfer on October 28, 2025, moved ₦12,190,726.80 from the LPRES Draw Down Account at Zenith Bank to an account for Katuka’s Kitchen; the same amount was later returned to the LPRES account. A source said Audu had resigned from the business on the Corporate Affairs Commission register but that her Bank Verification Number remained linked to its bank account.
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