The management of Kano Zoological Gardens has said that armed robbers stole the missing N6.90 million and not a gorilla in the zoo as widely reported.
The zoo’s managing director, Umar Umar, said there is no gorilla in the zoo and that the money was stolen in its coffers by burglars.
“I was called midnight on Sunday June 9th, by the head of security that armed robbers burgled our office including the revenue office,” Mr Umar told journalists on Monday.
“About 6.30 a.m., I left my home for the office and immediately I arrived I met my office and that of all the directors opened.
“Instantly I called the DPO, Sharada police station and reported the case to him. As far as I’m concerned, I suspect theft and nothing close to gorilla.”
Umar said the money stolen was N6.90 million and not N6.82 million as reported in the media.
Kano police spokesperson, Abdullahi Haruna, said 10 staff of the zoo, including the accounting officer Lawan Dandadarin, have been arrested and detained.
“So far, information collected from the suspects suggests armed robbery case and that of negligence,” Mr Haruna said.
BBC Pidgin reported last Friday that a Kano-based radio station, Freedom Radio, claimed that a finance officer it spoke to said “a huge gorilla” sneaked into their office to “swallow” the money.
But the head of current affairs of Freedom Radio, Nasiru Salisu, denied that the gorilla story originate from the station.
“We challenge anybody who claimed we break the Gorilla news to come out and prove it,” he said.
