…Nabs 3 vandals
By Hassan Zaggi
Detectives of the Nigeria Police Force have launched a man-hunt of the criminal receivers, end-users and other suspects complicit in the vandalisation of rail tracks and its accessories in different parts of the country.
This is even as three suspected vandals of the rail tracks have been nabbed.
Also, the police is currently investigating in order to unravel the destination of the targeted criminal receivers of the items.
The Force Spokesman, Frank Mba (CP), disclosed this while parading 36 suspects arrested for various offences including banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, possession of illegal firearms, cultism, murder, economic sabotage, cybercrime, car snatching, etc, in Abuja, Wednesday.
The three suspects, he said, are criminal syndicate responsible for recent economic sabotage and vandalism of rail tracks in the North-West and North-Central parts of the country.
Mba revealed that the arrest of the suspects followed what he described as deliberate efforts by the Force to contain and clampdown on perpetrators of recent incidents of rail tracks vandalism, carting away of critical locomotive equipment and other related economic crimes in some parts of the country.
The three suspects involved in the rail track vandalism, he said, include, 42-year old Idris Lawal, Abdullahi Musa, 29; and Usman Umar, 22 years.
They were arrested following a coordinated intelligence-driven special operation sometimes in late May, 2021, which uncovered a warehouse in Gboko LGA of Benue State.
“A cordon and search operation conducted by the Police operatives on the building revealed different vandalized rail equipment, stolen rail installation racks, weld-shear, rail puller, other rail accessories and consumables.
“Further investigations by the Police team led to the interception of 3 heavy-load trucks along Ikom-Ibom junction in Cross Rivers State.
“The trucks were fully loaded with vandalized rail items transported from the warehouse,” the Force Spokesman, said.
He further revealed that a 6-man notorious armed robbery and kidnapping syndicate linked to several violent crimes in Ondo and Ekiti axis of the South-Western part of the country has been arrested.
The arrest, according to him, followed the trailing and arrest of one 60-year-old Umar Mohammed who has been on the wanted list of the Police for transporting firearms and ammunition on behalf of notorious criminals who have carried out major operations in the South-West States.
Further investigations by the Police team led to the arrest of 5 of his gang members.
They includeUmar Abubakar, 22yrs, Muhammed Bello, 52yrs, Sale Lawali, 25yrs, Usman Muhammed, 20yrs and Musa Ibrahim, 53yrs.
