Controversy Trails Alleged Disappearance Of N4m In Police Custody

A mild drama ensued Wednesday in Karu, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) when a food seller in the Karu Motor Park, known as Mama Ngozi, was alleged to have found the sum of N4million misplaced by a white man who came to eat in her makeshift canteen.

LEADERSHIP learnt that the woman took the money to the Karu Police station which was just a stone throw to the motor park and handed the money to the officers on duty for safe keeping, in the event that the white man who misplaced the money came back for it.

It was learnt that after she had taken the money to the police station, the officers on duty allegedly took the money and sternly warned her to deny ever seeing such money or bringing it to the police station.

According to the sources, as soon as the woman returned from the police station, neighbours and other people who did business around the park thronged her canteen and started berating her for returning the money to the police when she could have helped herself with such huge sum.

LEADERSHIP further learnt that when the husband of the woman heard about the incident he also berated her for returning the money to the police. Meanwhile the officers in Karu were said to have invited the food seller and her husband and warned them about the danger theywould face if they revealed that the money was brought to the station.

According to the sources, throughout that Wednesday, people kept thronging Mama Ngozi’s canteen from all corners of Karu to find out why she took such an amount to the police. It was also learnt that when the white man who misplaced the money returned to the canteen Mama Ngozi told him that she did not see the stipulated sum.

When LEADERSHIP visited Karu Park, yesterday morning, most of the people doing business around the park who spoke with this reporter, confirmed the story and was still expressing disappointment that Mama Ngozi returned the money to the police.

According to them, the woman was in need of money and so, was not justified to have returned money “placed on her laps by God”, they averred.

When LEADERSHIP reporter accosted Mama Ngozi, she expressed shock at the story and wondered that it had already gone to town. She denied ever coming across such an amount in her shop and also denied taking the money to the police. She however confirmed that people kept thronging her canteen throughout Wednesday, to find out how she found such a huge sum and returned it to the police.