Kano Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission says it has sealed warehouses suspected to be used for hoarding food items and essential commodities in the state.
Chairman of the commission, Muhuyi Rimingado, in a statement on Wednesday listed the commodities being hoarded as 19, 500 bags of flour and 5, 120 bags of sugar.
Others are, 79, 645 cartons of spaghetti and 37, 000 cartons of pasta.
Mr Rimingado said the items were seized at Singer market sequel to a raid conducted by operatives of the commission.
The commission had earlier directed traders involved in unilateral hike in prices of food items to sell them at regulated prices or risk forfeiture.
Rimingado said the commission also uncovered fraudulent activities by some traders who were taking advantage of the lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic to hoard and inflate prices of food and essential commodities.
“Hoarding and unnecessary hike in prices of food items is capable of undermining government efforts to stem the pandemic and breach the security of the state,” the statement read.
“This action (hoarding and unauthorised hike in prices of goods) is a crime, under the provisions of Regulation 11 (2) (3) and (4) of the Kano State Public Health (Infectious Disease) Regulations 2020.
“The action is capable of undermining the security of the state to the fact that a lot of Islamic clerics (Ulama) have been making reference to it in their Ramadan fast lectures.”
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had earlier expressed concern over hoarding and hike in prices of food commodities in the state.
