By Palma Ileye
Commandant General’s, Special Intelligence Squad, CG’s SIS, of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Squad, NSCDC, has intercepted an articulated DAF truck conveying large quantities of vandalized rail track iron concealed inside iron scrap.
According to a press release issued yesterday by the NSCDC, Director of Public Relations CSC, Afolabi Babawale, four suspects were also rounded up and have been taken into custody for further investigations and action.
The NSCDC statement read, “On 14th of August, 2023, about 1030hrs ,the CG’s Special Intelligence Squad, who are on specialized operation to checkmate nefarious activities of rail line vandals, arrested four suspected vandals who disguised as scavengers. It was later discovered that the suspects have vandalized rail track irons and concealed them inside scrap iron materials before loading the vandalized rail track irons into a truck that will convey them to the buyers.”
It stated that the truck and the four suspects were intercepted along Lafia-Akwanga–Abuja expressway, Sabon Pagi, Lafia Nasarawa State on Monday. Details of the truck was given as an articulated DAF truck with registration number BSA 899XA and the four suspected vandals are 27 years old Anasi Ali who is the driver of the truck. Others are Yusuf Idris, 25, Hafis Idris, 18 and Nasiru Abdullahi,28 who served as an escort.
“Items recovered from the vandals are; a DAF truck, large quantitities of offloaded scrap irons and large quantities of vandalized railways irons,” the statement informed.
It further stated that, preliminary investigation carried out by the NSCDC revealed that the vandals loaded the rail truck irons and slippers in Makurdi, Benue State and concealed it inside scrap irons to disguise it as scraps and were the vandalized products to an undisclosed iron and steel company in Ilorin, Kwara State before they were intercepted and arrested.
In the meantime, the Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi has ordered full scale investigation after which the suspects will be charged to court.
