No fewer than two suspected vandals of railway infrastructure and 11 illegal miners have been arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC) FCT Command.
According to Okomanyi Comfort, the spokesperson of NSCDC FCT command, in a statement on Tuesday, the two railway vandals were arrested by the Operatives of the Critical National Assets and Infrastructure unit of the command for willfully vandalising rail tracks and traffic lights in Wuye Area of the territory.
The statement reads, “In the same vein, the Command, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, arrested 11 suspects involved in illegal mining activities at Izom, a community located at the boundary of FCT and Niger State.”
“Our effort is geared towards combating various forms of criminality, particularly vandalism of Critical National Assets and other public infrastructure, illegal mining activities and others within the FCT.
“We will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance to vandalism, and there is no plan to retreat on this mission as they must all be brought to book.
“I have vowed that there is no hiding place for evil perpetrators, so in this vein, active efforts are underway to apprehend their masterminds who are still at large.”
He reiterated that economic sabotage through illegal exploitation of the nation’s mineral resources not only poses serious threats to the ecosystem and the well-being of the host communities, but the nation also loses billions of naira to these illegal operators.