The Department of State Services (DSS) in Taraba State has reportedly arrested a warehouse owner and three other individuals over the alleged diversion of humanitarian relief materials donated by Saudi Arabia for vulnerable residents.
The arrests reportedly took place at a private warehouse in Sintali Ward, Jalingo Local Government Area, where a truckload of relief supplies, including rice, white beans and other essential items, had allegedly been offloaded.
The materials were donated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) to support disaster victims and vulnerable households across Taraba State.
Sources familiar with the incident said the relief items were discovered at the private warehouse, prompting the intervention of DSS operatives. Videos from the scene reportedly showed utility vehicles believed to belong to the security agency as bags of relief materials were being loaded for removal.
Some of the bags reportedly carried the inscription, “Not for Sale,” indicating that the items were intended for humanitarian distribution rather than commercial sale.
The development comes amid earlier allegations concerning the diversion of relief materials meant for vulnerable residents and financial transactions linked to the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA).
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In June 2026, TSEMA, in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), launched the distribution of KSRelief-donated materials 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, TSEMA Executive Secretary, Dr. Echuseh Audu, assured stakeholders that the distribution process would be guided by transparency, accountability and fairness.
Audu had previously denied allegations circulating on social media that relief items, including rice and groundnut oil, had been diverted. She reportedly presented herself voluntarily to security agencies and called for an investigation to establish the facts.
Separately, questions have been raised over financial transactions involving accounts associated with Audu and Katuka’s Kitchen, a registered business name, including payments to a hospital in Abuja. However, the reported transactions do not, on their own, establish wrongdoing.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged diversion and the roles of those arrested have yet to be fully established. Further investigation is expected to determine how the relief materials ended up at the private warehouse and whether any laws were violated.
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