In Nasarawa, troops detain alleged railway vandals

Three alleged railway vandals have been detained by members of the 4 Special Forces of the Nigerian Army in the state of Nasarawa, in the Kwarra neighbourhood of the Keana Local Government Area.

Maj. Joseph Afolasade, the command’s acting deputy director for army public relations, revealed in a news briefing on Monday that on August 5, 2023, at around 11 p.m., troops of the command caught the vandals while on a routine patrol.

He stated, “The suspects were arrested with a significant amount of railway parts loaded in a truck with registration number DED 364 YC.”

The accused, he said, claimed that they had been duped by their fugitive backers.

According to him, preliminary investigations showed that Chibuki Akubilo, the truck driver, had been hired for N1.6 million to deliver the damaged railroad components to Ilorin, the state capital of Kwara.

He added that the Special Forces Commander, Maj. Gen. Hillary Nzan, had given his approval for the suspects to be turned over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, or NSCDC, for additional investigation and legal action.

In response, Mr. Jerry Victor, the NSCDC Public Relations Officer, thanked the Army for working with the corps to combat insecurity in the state and reaffirmed that that kind of crime is being committed by a syndicate.

Additionally, he promised that additional inquiries will be made with the intention of detaining other group members and prosecuting them.

The truck’s driver admitted to news crews that he had been approached by Mr. Charles to deliver the goods to Ilorin.