The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has impounded two trucks conveying no fewer than 500 stolen railway sleepers and arrested 12 suspected vandals.
The Director, Public Relations, NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, said the security agency also clamped down stormed two illegal warehouses, and recovered vandalised railway sleepers.
Odumosu, in a statement on Sunday, explained that the operations were carried out by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad in Kaduna and Nasarawa states.
“The arrests were made during three separate operations by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad at Kafanchan-Kwoi Road, Jama’a LGA, Kaduna State and Agwan-Kuje village, Kadarko area in the Keana LGA of Nasarawa State and the National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp, Keffi-Abuja Expressway,” he said.
According to him, NSCDC operatives swung into action following intelligence reports.
“The first five arrests were made when suspected vandals were loading vandalised and stolen railway sleepers at a bush in Nasarawa,” Odumosu said, adding that 500 pieces of vandalised railway sleepers purportedly owned by the Nigerian Railway Corporation were recovered.
“A long open-body Man Diesel trailer already loaded with over 500 pieces of vandalised railway sleepers alleged to be owned by the Nigeria Railway Corporation was recovered from the suspects. The railway sleepers were concealed under sacks of groundnut dust
“Also retrieved from the suspects was a forged copy of the Nigeria Railway scrap delivery paper.
“In another operation at the National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp, Keffi-Abuja Expressway, three suspected vandals were also arrested while conveying large quantities of vandalised railway sleepers concealed with rice chaff inside a J5 Boxer bus.
“Another four suspected vandals were arrested by the CG’s SIS while loading railway sleepers into an already filled illegal warehouse in Kaduna.
“Acting on a tip-off, the squad immediately swung into action and succeeded in intercepting one white long open-body truck fully loaded with large quantities of vandalised rail track irons, covered with a blue tarpaulin.
“All the arrested suspects and the exhibits are subject to a preliminary investigation by the corps which will help to make further arrest and subsequent prosecution to reduce the rate of critical infrastructural vandalism in the affected territories.”
