The Transport Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has arrested five suspected vandals at the track of the Abuja Light Rail project.
The suspects, allegedly specialized in vandalizing communication cables and rail tracks, were arrested by security personnel assigned to safeguard the railway facilities.
Mandate Secretary of the Transportation Secretariat, Uboku Nyah, described the destruction of the infrastructure as highly condemnable when he visited the various sections of the vandalised rail tracks at Kukwuaba on Thursday.
Nyah vowed that appropriate authorities would institute legal action against the suspects to serve as a deterrent to others, as the government had invested heavily on the rail infrastructure to provide cheap and safe transportation for the people.
“We are sad to see what has happened. We got this report in the office that there had been a lot of vandalisation on our protective fences, tracks and communication cables,” he said.
“We came to see what has been happening, and we can confirm what we have seen. It is sad and very condemnable that our people that we are working for are doing this, because the people didn’t come from outer space to cause this level of vandalisation on the project.
“What this means is that we have to spend double, and delay the project. We had expected that within the year that the rail services will start working. But when we came here and saw that even the cables and the protective fences have been vandalised by our people, it is something that takes us back, and it is criminal for anybody to do this. That is why the Minister of FCT and government of FCT don’t take it lightly, as the full weight of the law will be visited on the culprits,” he added.
The General Supervisor, SEGAD Security, Japhet MaiKeffi, noted that he and his men were on their routine patrol when they sighted the suspects digging the rail tracks to remove the armoured cables.
He said of the suspects were arrested and taken into custody after an ambush, while the rest were arrested in a scavenger quarters at Gwagwa after their phones were tracked.
The leader of the gang, who gave his name as Salisu Ibrahim, and spoke in Hausa language, reportedly said their work was to vandalise, steal the cables and sell them.
According to reports. Ibrahim said it was the fourth time he was involved in the criminal activity.
