The police operatives attached to Railway Police Command under the leadership of CP Yetunde Longe said it has arrested thirteen suspected rail track vandals.
The Railway Police Command CP said the arrest of the suspects came as a result of the “continuous effort to combat railway tracks vandalism in all parts of Nigeria.”
The command said “on 12th of May 2022, men of the Railway Police Command upon credible tip-off by a group of Civilian Joint Task Force arrested five suspected vandals in Abakwa axis of Kaduna state.
“They were intercepted while removing and vandalizing rail tracks of the Abakwa old rail line with a gas cylinder. The suspects are Abubarkar Ayuba, Musa Ibrahim, Umar Bello, Samaila Rabiu, Yahaya Abubakar.
The command also stated that “another three suspects were similarly arrested for vandalizing the standard gauge rail Pandrol clips property of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC)/Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).
“The suspects, Benedict Matthew (20), Ismalia Ibrahim (18), and Abdullahi Iliyasu (20) were arrested on 17th of June 2022. Exhibits recovered from them include 10 sacks of vandalized standard gauge rail pandrol clip irons, a measuring scale, and a hammer.
“The Minna Division of the Railway Police Command also arrested three persons with two hundred and twenty Pandrol clips,” the police also stated.
According to the police, “the suspects: Abdulrazak Abubakar, Khamisu Abba, Abdulganiyu Abubakar were arrested at kilometre 735, along Korota Village, Maikunkele Beji section.”
Also “the Kafanchan Railway Police Division upon credible information also intercepted a truck loaded with vandalized railway iron rails tucked away in a bush at Unguwar Yawa Village, Zango Kataf Local Government Kaduna State.