21 food trucks en route to neighbouring countries are intercepted by the EFCC.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized twenty-one food trucks that were en route to nearby nations.

The anti-graft agency said in a statement posted on its X handle yesterday that the items had been seized and were en route to N’djamena, the Chad Republic, the Central African Republic, and Cameroon.

It stated that agents of the EFCC Maiduguri Zonal Command made the seizure.

In a sting operation along the Kalabiri/Gamboru Ngala and Bama roads in Borno State, the trucks were stopped, according to the statement.

“The investigation revealed food items that were deftly hidden in the trucks and would have gone unnoticed if not for the vigilant observation of Commission personnel.”

“Further inspections revealed that the waybills for the items transported by trucks listed N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central

Africa Republic, and Cameroon respectively.

The commission stated that the arrest of the trucks is expected to stem the tide of food insecurity occasioned by unscrupulous antics of smugglers across the country.

Noting that the arrested suspects are being profiled, the agency vowed to charge them to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

The seizure is coming on the heels of the rising cost of food items in Nigeria. With inflation reaching 29.90 percent, the cost of living has reached the rooftops, prompting pockets of protests in several parts of the country.

Some warehouses and food trucks have also been hijacked. However, the federal government has rolled out measures to cushion the impacts of the high cost of living and will begin the distribution of grains nationwide later in the week.

President Bola Tinubu’s government has consistently called for patience for his government’s reforms including the floating of the naira and the declaration of an end to the subsidy regime to take root. He insists there is no backing down on them.