A civil society group, Security, Economic and Development Initiative, has decried the spate of rail tracks vandalism across the country, describing it as wicked and barbaric.

The Public Secretary of SEDI, Abiodun Daniels, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Daniels stated that it was inconceivable that some unscrupulous persons would use their hands to destroy what they were supposed to protect.

According to him, it is wicked, evil and an act of murder to remove rail tracks and expose train passengers to danger, which in some instances can lead to fatalities.

“We are therefore saying that anyone found guilty of rail track vandalism should face life imprisonment to serve as a deterrent to intending vandals. We use this opportunity to commend troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria under the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Chris Musa for going after the vandals. The vandals, wherever they are, must be apprehended, tried and face the music for their wicked and callous behaviour,” he said.

He said troops of 1 Division, Nigerian Army in Kaduna recently apprehended 47 suspected rail track vandals while on routine patrol along Kakau Daji-Anguwan Ayaba in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.

He added that the suspects had loaded two trucks with the vandalised rail tracks before their arrest.

He recalled that operatives of the Nigerian Navy School of Armament Technology in Kachia, Kaduna State, also recently, intercepted three trailers loaded with vandalised railway track materials, discreetly concealed in animal feed.

He said, “This interception occurred at Makyali in the Kachia Local Government Area.’’

(NAN)