The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has arrested 13 suspected railway vandals with large quantities of long rails and sleepers worth N800 million.
A statement signed by the Corps spokesman, Babawale Afolabi disclosed that the suspects were arrested by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad.
The suspects were paraded alongside five trucks conveying the large quantities of vandalised rails and sleepers at the NSCDC Headquarters, Abuja.
Afolabi said that the arrests took place around the Manchock area of Kaura LGA, the Zonkwa area in Zango Kataf LGA and the Kaffanchan area in Jama’a LGA of Kaduna State.
“The 13 suspects are still being interrogated and cross-examined after which other accomplices will be arrested and charged to court”, said Afolabi.
The Corps spokesman added that upon arrest, the CGs SIS operatives were offered N30 million as bribe which they declined.
“When they were apprehended, the Commander of the squad was offered the sum of 30 million naira which was rejected”, he said.
The NSCDC Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Audi frowned at the yet-to-be-identified iron and steel companies who always buy, process and melt the vandalized rail track iron and sleepers.
Audi noted that: “Efforts are in top gear to smash and unmask these syndicates and make them face the wrath of the law no matter how highly or lowly placed”.
Meanwhile, the NSCDC, in Oyo State on Tuesday paraded a group of men including a Togolese for allegedly vandalizing and stealing street light cables belonging to the State Government.
The State Public Relations Officer, Oyindamola Okuneye, who paraded the suspects at the Command Headquarters in Ibadan, on behalf of the State Commandant, Michael Adaralewa, disclosed that the suspects were Aliu Musa, 29, a Togolese; Godwin Lakur, 26, from Anambra State and Joseph Michael, 25, from Taraba State.
Adaralewa noted that they were arrested on Friday, July 28, around 0200hrs along Nihort Ile-Titun area, Ibadan.
The Commandant said the suspects also confirmed to have done similar operations the same month of July where they vandalized and sold the cable in the same area at the rate of N40,000.
Similarly, NSCDC also paraded one Opeyemi Aanuoluwa, 24, for allegedly stealing a tricycle around the Ita-Akinloye area of Oje in Ibadan.
Adaralewa said: “On August 15, 2023, around 0600hrs at Akinloye area, Oje in Ibadan, a suspect, Aanuoluwa stole a tricycle, destroyed some parts of the tricycle before he could drive it away at Oje in Ibadan.
“Due to the tracker positioned on the tricycle, it was later tracked down by an officer of Oyo who was at Iseyin on the same day”.
In their separate interviews, the suspects confessed to the crime leveled against them.
Aanuoluwa claimed it was the handiwork of the devil that led him into stealing the tricycle.
“I can say, I did it because I don’t really have a job at hand to do. So, when I saw the tricycle, I decided to steal it, so I can be using it to hustle, I’m so sorry for my actions”, he confessed.