The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested two men and recovered a truckload of stolen railway sleepers along the Bauchi-Kano corridor, dealing a blow to a syndicate targeting rail infrastructure.
The operation was carried out by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad after intelligence flagged the illegal movement of rail materials from Tafawa-Balewa LGA in Bauchi to Kano State.
NSCDC spokesman Afolabi Babawale said operatives intercepted a Peugeot Boxer vehicle, reg. no. KMC-366-TE, on the Bauchi-Kano Road and found a large consignment of suspected vandalised sleepers concealed inside.
Driver Alzuma Yakubu, 65, and Ismail Muhammad, 32, who claimed ownership of the items, were arrested on the spot. Both the vehicle and the materials were impounded.
The breakthrough followed a directive by NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Audi to redeploy the squad to Bauchi after Governor Bala Mohammed raised the alarm over vandalism linked to elements allegedly operating under “Des-Rail Limited.”
Commandant Apollos Dandaura, who leads the squad, said the team is now dismantling networks involved in the systematic theft and removal of railway infrastructure along the Bauchi-Gombe axis.
3,715 PHCs non-operational across 19 states, FCT
Security sources said the suspects are cooperating with investigators, who are tracking warehouses allegedly used to store stolen materials before resale in other states.
The NSCDC described the seizure as a win for the federal government’s push to protect critical national assets, warning that Bauchi and neighboring states would no longer be safe havens for vandals and scrap dealers.
Analysts say attacks on rail infrastructure threaten billions in public investment and undermine efforts to modernise Nigeria’s transport network.
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