How Katsina government lost N31m to burglar

A burglar, on Sunday night, broke into an office at the Government House, Katsina State, and carted away N31 million.

The Guardian gathered that the incident occurred during heavy rainfall, at the office of the Financial Controller (FC) within the Governor’s Office.

Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) camera footage revealed that the thief stole the money through the FC’s window, and moved it in a sack through the Government House.

A close source said: “The person, who stole the money, was seen through the CCTV camera, and he came through the window of the FC’s office. He was later seen carting the money away in a large sack, but his face didn’t show on the CCTV, only his torso downwards.”

He said there was suspicion the thief might be familiar with the workings of the CCTV camera at the Government House, or he had the connivance with someone at the CCTV office.

Following the incident, the police arrested every employee at the FC’s office, but later released some after interrogation.

Earlier in the year, N25 million had reportedly been stolen from the Government House, leading to arrests by the police, but it was not clear if the money was recovered, or if the culprit was prosecuted.

Government officials were not available for comment on the N25 million theft at the time of this report.

The latest robbery came about a month after a cashier in the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SGS), Aminu Darma, was attacked in Katsina town and N61 million carted away.

The police lamented that a similar incident had occurred months before Darma’s, in which several millions of naira were stolen from the car booth of another employee of the SGS’s office, after he had gone to withdraw them from a commercial bank.

The recurrence of monetary theft under the present administration has elicited varied reactions, especially from critics.

One respondent wondered what manner of security was in place at the Government House, that someone would breach it and cart away huge amount of money.

The Director General, New Media, Al’amin Isah, who confirmed the incident, said the state government had reported the matter to the police, and investigation ongoing.

“Those suspected to be involved in the incident have been arrested by the police and investigation is ongoing. But I don’t know the amount alleged to have been stolen,” he said, adding that measures was put in place after the first theft, to avert recurrence.