No fewer than 15 suspected railway vandals have been arrested across the country by the railway police in the last two months.

In a statement by the Commissioner of Police in charge of Railway Command, Yetunde Longe, on Tuesday in Lagos, said the suspected vandals were arrested in different parts of the country in July and August, respectively.

She said their arrests followed the command’s increased surveillance around the railway corridors to reduce vandalism and theft of railway infrastructure nationwide.

The commissioner disclosed that the command had, earlier in May and June, arrested 13 suspects for alleged crimes bordering on theft, vandalism and other heinous crimes committed in and around infrastructure belonging to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

She said the Railway Police Division patrol team intercepted and arrested three suspected vandals in Minna, Niger, after a tip-off by some members of a vigilance group.

The commissioner said the suspects: Hadi Mohammed, 42; Abdullahi Mohammed,34; and Abdullahi Shittu, 45, were arrested with 32 railway iron slippers loaded in a saloon car.

She said in Aba, four suspects: Michael Chukwuebuka, Chigozie Augustine, Onyekachi Abba, and Chukwuma Adumoha, were arrested in connection with the theft of railway pandrol slippers kept by the Chinese Construction Company (CCECC) for construction.

She said the stolen but later recovered items were handed over to the construction company after the command had concluded its investigation.

The police boss also disclosed that two fleeing suspects – Ridwan Olalekan and Sharafa Muritala, were arrested and charged to court by the Railway Criminal Investigation Department.

She said the suspects were initially spotted in a bush in Akwanga in Nasarawa State, where they vandalised about 72 rail track irons.

“At the sight of the policemen, the suspects fled the scene and abandoned their truck. After an intense investigation, the suspects were arrested and charged to court. Both had been remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Lagos,” she said.

Ms Longe said the Ilorin division of the command, during a routine patrol, also apprehended two suspected vandals: Yahaya Mohammed and Jumai Sule, with 113 pandrol clips at the Sabongida area of Jebba.

She said in the Gombe division, one Bashir Abdullahi was arrested for vandalism and theft of 58 railway clips.

Within the period under review, Ms Longe said two trucks belonging to Dangote Sugar were spotted in Kaduna, loaded with an unspecified amount of railway irons belonging to the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

According to her, no suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime, stressing that the trucks had been moved to safe custody while investigations were ongoing.

The commissioner sued for the public’s cooperation in crime-fighting, saying the importance of the Citizen-Police Partnership could not be overemphasised.

(NAN)