NSCDC FCT commandant parades four suspected electrical cable vandals

The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Dr. Olusola Odumosu, has paraded four suspected electrical installation cable vandals at the Command Headquarters, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.

The parade follows the arrest of four suspected vandals who specialise in vandalising electrical installations and armoured cables across the Federal Capital Territory.

According to a statement by the Command Public Relations Officer, Monica Ojobi, the suspects were arrested across three separate locations involving alleged vandalism, possession, and trafficking of electrical cables in Abaji, Kubwa, and the Wuye axis of Abuja.

Parading the suspects, Odumosu disclosed that the NSCDC FCT Command Anti-Vandal patrol team, acting on credible intelligence, apprehended a suspect around Residential Quarters in Abaji Area Council.

The suspect was identified as Mammed Nuhu, male, 44 years old, from Batsari LGA, Katsina State, in connection with vandalism, alleged unlawful possession, and storage of high-tension aluminium conductor cables suspected to have been vandalised from critical national assets and infrastructure in Abaji Area Council.

The suspect, during preliminary investigations, disclosed that two other individuals, simply identified as Saifullah, 33, and Abdulraham, 25, brought the cables to him for safekeeping pending sale to prospective buyers.

Both individuals are currently at large, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend them and identify other persons connected to the alleged criminal activity.

Exhibits recovered were bundles of high-tension aluminium conductor cables suspected to have been vandalised from AEDC installations in Abaji.

In a related development, operatives of the NSCDC Kubwa Base Station arrested two suspects, identified as Amos Makama, male, 27 years old, from Kokona LGA, Nasarawa State, and Ibrahim Mohammed Maitama Inuwa, male, 27 years old, from Dala LGA, Kano State, in connection with alleged vandalism and unlawful possession of electrical cables around Government Secondary School, Kubwa.

The arrest was made at about 1:00 a.m. following reports of suspicious movements around the school’s perimeter fence by commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators in the area.

The prime suspect, Amos Makama, during interrogation confessed that he gained access to the school in the evening through the gate and severed wires inside the school building, operating on the premises until 12:00 a.m. When he climbed the fence with the exhibits in an attempt to escape and sell the items, he was arrested by officers of the FCT Command.

He further revealed that he had already contacted Ibrahim Mohammed, the alleged buyer, who had made an advance payment of N35,000. Both suspects confessed to the crime, stating that they have been in the illicit business since 2024.

The third case, the FCT Commandant said, involves alleged criminal conspiracy, vandalism, and theft of armoured cables.

According to the FCT helmsman, officers from the Command’s Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Department on routine patrol were alerted by members of a local vigilante group to the suspicious activities of certain individuals at about 10:30 p.m.

One Suleiman Jafaru was apprehended near the Berger Roundabout along the Wuye axis of Abuja in connection with the alleged excavation and theft of armoured cables.

The exhibits recovered from the suspect included armoured cables and two diggers.

Investigations revealed that three persons were allegedly involved in the suspected vandalism and removal of armoured cables around the Berger area of Abuja. The prime suspect stated that he was acting alongside two other individuals who escaped during the operation.

The suspect’s statement indicates that he was digging up armoured cables by the roadside near Berger at the time of his arrest.

The identities and whereabouts of the two other alleged accomplices have yet to be established.

The NSCDC Commandant, who condemned the acts of vandalism, stated that such attacks directly harm the welfare, safety, and economic well-being of FCT residents.

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“The cost of replacing stolen cables and repairing damaged installations also diverts resources that could otherwise be invested in improving electricity services; the alleged involvement of receivers and buyers in these cases also highlight a critical dimension of this crime ” Odumosu stated.

He reiterated that the NSCDC FCT Command will pursue not only those who physically remove these materials but also those who knowingly provide a market for stolen electricity materials, thereby encouraging further vandalism.

He maintained that the NSCDC remains committed to sustaining intelligence-led operations, strengthening collaboration with relevant stakeholders, and ensuring that all persons found wanting are brought to justice through due process.

He urged residents, community leaders, commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators, traders, scrap-metal dealers, and other relevant stakeholders to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities around electricity installations to the appropriate authorities.