FIVE person are set to be prosecuted by the FCT Administration Transport Secretariat (FCTA) for vandalising facilities of the rail track of the Abuja Light Rail project.
This much was disclosed to Journalists on Thursday by the FCT Mandate Secretary, Transportation Secretariat, Uboku Nyah, while visiting the vandalized areas of the rail track at Kukwuaba.
The suspected vandals were arrested on Wednesday morning by the vigilant security team guarding the railway facilities.
The suspects are believed to be specialists in vandalising communication cables, perimeter fences and rail track cables.
Nyah lamented the sabotage of public facilities meant to serve the people.
He pledged to pursue the prosecution of the suspects to a definitive conclusion.
“Over the past few days, the FCT Minister has been emphasising the importance of efficient transportation, particularly the rail transportation, in line with the vision of the renewed hope agenda of the President, in providing cheap and safe transportation for our people.
“The anchor of that is rail transportation, which can move people massively from one place to another, and the government has invested heavily in that infrastructure.
“We are sad to come and see what has happened. We got this report in the office that there has been a lot of vandalisation on our protective fences, tracks, and communication cables. We came to see what has been happening, and we can confirm what we have seen.
“It is sad and very condemnable that the people we are working for are doing this because they didn’t come from outer space to cause this level of vandalisation.
“What this means is that we have to spend double and delay the project. We had expected that within the year, the rail services would start. 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 the government of FCT don’t take it lightly, as the full weight of the law will be visited on the people.
“Fortunately, a few of these people have been taken in, and whatever is due legally will be done to discourage other people from acting against the interest of the government and the people,” Nyah stated.
On how the arrest took place, the General Supervisor, SEGAD Security Japhet MaiKeffi, explained that he and his team were carrying out a routine patrol of the area when they spotted the suspects digging the rail tracks to remove the armoured cables.
MaiKeffi noted that, upon sighting his team, the suspects took off.
He disclosed that an ambush was then laid for the suspects while trying to perpetrate the act.
“Day before yesterday, we went out for general patrol, so around 2:10 am, we saw four young people (suspects) digging the rail tracks to remove the armoured cables inside the bush; immediately we parked and flashed torchlight, and immediately they noticed us, they started running, we began chasing them.
“And we laid ambushed inside the bush while waiting for them, till about 5:05 A.m., then one of them was seen coming out with a shovel in his hand, that was when we immediately arrested him,” MaiKeffi explained.
MaiKeffi went further to explain that his team used the phone of the arrested suspect to track the other suspects to their residences in a Baba-bola settlement at Gwagwa, where they were all apprehended and taken into custody.
The gang’s leader, Salisu Ibrahim, described himself as a vehicle mechanic turned vandal.
“On our way to work(cable vandalism)in the middle of the night, we sighted a torch light from afar, and we guessed it must be coming from the security personnel assigned to guard the railway facilities. I am actually a motor mechanic, but I had to switch to vandalism due to lack of a job and its lucrativeness.
“As we attempted to approach them to clear ourselves, suddenly a vehicle started chasing us, and in our confused state, we took to our heels to escape from the security men.
“We thought everything was over the next morning and decided to resume from where we stopped the previous night, but unfortunately, we walked into their ambush, and I was apprehended.
“Our work is to vandalize, steal the cables, and sell, and this is the fourth time I’ve been involved in the activity,” the gang’s leader explained.
