The Kano State Multi-Agency Committee on illicit drugs and related offences has arrested a former chairman of Rogo Local Government Area for allegedly trafficking and giving fentanyl to young people.
The committee’s chairman, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, told reporters that the suspect was caught during an undercover operation set up to check claims that he was selling and giving out the powerful opioid.
Rimingado said the investigation began after a young man was arrested and reportedly suffered serious injuries from injections given by the suspect.
He said the victim named the former council chairman as his source and explained how the alleged deals happened.
The committee then gave the victim marked money and told him to go back to the suspect while officers watched the exchange.
Rimingado said the suspect took the money and told the buyer to leave, then came back later with the drug hidden in an envelope, sometimes with a syringe.
“Our officers stepped in and arrested him just as he was about to give out the drug,” he said.
The committee chairman said the suspect first denied knowing where the substance came from and claimed he got it from someone else at Sabon Gari Market.
Rimingado said investigators found the substance with the suspect and took statements from both the alleged victim and the suspect.
He said the victim told investigators he had spent over N2 million buying the substance in the past two years. Rimingado said this shows how serious the alleged abuse is.
Rimingado identified the substance as fentanyl and said the investigation also uncovered alleged regulatory violations involving a medical facility operated by the suspect.
He said the facility was closed after the state regulatory agency found it did not have the proper license.
He also said the suspect claimed to be a nurse but could not show a valid professional license.
Rimingado said the suspect used to run a hospital in Dorayi but moved to Bechi after the facility’s license expired.
The committee also said the suspect carried out medical procedures he was not allowed to do, such as caesarean sections.
Rimingado said the former council chairman was charged under Section 249 of the Kano State Penal Code for allegedly giving out intoxicating or harmful substances.
He also said the suspect was taken to court and is being held in custody while the case continues.
The committee chairman said investigators have collected statements and other evidence to be presented in court.
He also disclosed that the alleged victim suffered injuries after receiving injections from the suspect following separate incidents.
Rimingado warned that the committee would prosecute anyone found to be involved in supplying harmful drugs to young people, regardless of their status or background.
He said the Kano State Government established the multi-agency committee to strengthen the fight against drug abuse and related offences, adding that enforcement operations would continue across the state.