Jigawa State Mobile Court has sentenced two persons to 15 months imprisonment for fertilizer adulteration.
The presiding magistrate, Barrister Mannir Sarki Abdullahi, however, gave them the option of paying an N80,000 fine.
“Six months in a custodial facility or the fine option of N50,000 for adulteration and six months in a custodial facility or the fine option of N30,000 each for conspiracy and bond to be of good character which also attracts three month imprisonment if breached,” he said.
Abdullahi, however, ordered the exhibits to be seized by the court for onward destruction.
He said the punishment would serve as a deterrent to others with similar intentions.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had on Tuesday arrested one Baffa Musa and Abubakar Alhaji Sani over a suspected case of adulteration of fertilizer intended for sale and conspiracy contrary to sections 184 and 97 of the Penal Code Law.
The suspects were arrested following an intelligence report that the suspects were mixing NPK agricultural fertilizer of various companies with sand in Hadejia.
They were arrested in possession of 27 bags of fertilizer of which 24 were already adulterated while the other 3 were filled with sand valued at the sum of N336,000.
