The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested four suspects in three separate operations over alleged vandalism and trafficking of electricity cables in Abaji, Kubwa and Wuye areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), uncovering alleged links between cable thieves and prospective buyers.
The arrests, involving high-tension aluminium conductors, electrical installation wires and armoured cables, followed an intensified crackdown on the destruction of critical national assets and infrastructure, barely a week after the corps paraded suspected Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) cable vandals arrested in Kwali Area Council.
The FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, Dr Olusola Odumosu, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, warning that the corps would pursue not only those who allegedly remove electrical installations but also individuals suspected of buying, receiving, concealing or facilitating the sale of stolen materials.
In one of the operations, two men were arrested over the alleged removal of electrical installation cables from Government Secondary School, Kubwa, popularly known as Black and White Secondary School.
The suspects were identified as Amos Makama, 27, from Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, and Ibrahim Mohammed Maitama Inuwa, 27, from Dala Local Government Area of Kano State.
Odumosu said the incident occurred at about 1 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, following reports of suspicious movements around the school’s perimeter.
NSCDC operatives attached to the Kubwa Base Station reportedly apprehended Makama at the scene and recovered about 38 rolls of electrical installation cables, cut pieces of power cables concealed in a sack, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver and other items suspected to have been used in the operation.
Preliminary investigations, according to the commandant, indicated that Makama allegedly gained access to the school through its gate in the evening, cut electrical wires in the buildings and remained on the premises until around midnight before attempting to escape over the fence with the materials.
Odumosu said the suspect allegedly disclosed that he had contacted Inuwa to buy the cables and that the latter had paid an advance of N35,000.
The command subsequently contacted the alleged buyer under the guise of arranging the sale of the materials, leading to his arrest when he arrived at the agreed location.
Both suspects reportedly confessed to involvement in the business and said they had been engaged in it since 2024.
The allegations and reported confessions have not been tested in court.
In a separate operation at the Residential Quarters in Abaji Area Council, NSCDC anti-vandal patrol operatives arrested a 44-year-old man, Mammud Nuhu, over the alleged unlawful possession and storage of high-tension aluminium conductor cables suspected to have been removed from critical electricity infrastructure.
Odumosu said the arrest followed credible intelligence and sustained surveillance by the command’s anti-vandal team.
According to him, preliminary investigations indicated that Nuhu allegedly told investigators that two other men, identified as Saifullah, 32, and Abdulrahman, 25, had brought the cables to him for safekeeping pending their sale to prospective buyers.
The two alleged accomplices remained at large as of Wednesday, while the command said efforts were ongoing to apprehend them and identify other persons connected with the alleged criminal activity.
Bundles of high-tension aluminium conductor cables suspected to have been vandalised from an AEDC installation in Abaji were recovered.
Nuhu was profiled and his statement obtained after he was cautioned before he was granted administrative bail to produce a credible surety, the command said.
The third operation followed a tip-off from members of a local vigilante group about suspicious activities around Berger Roundabout along the Wuye axis of Abuja.
Odumosu said an officer attached to the command’s Critical National Assets and Infrastructure department received the information during a routine patrol at about 10.30 p.m. on October 20.
The operatives subsequently arrested a 20-year-old man, Suleiman Jafaru, from Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, over alleged excavation and theft of armoured cables.
An unspecified quantity of armoured cables and a digger were recovered at the scene, according to the command.
Preliminary investigations reportedly indicated that three people were involved in the operation, with two alleged accomplices escaping before Jafaru’s arrest.
Their identities and whereabouts had yet to be established.
The commandant also disclosed that Jafaru alleged he had been assaulted by members of the vigilante group before being handed over to NSCDC operatives.
He said the allegation required appropriate documentation and verification.
Odumosu described the vandalism of electricity infrastructure as an attack on public welfare and economic development
He noted that damaged cables could disrupt electricity supply, impose repair costs on service providers and businesses, and expose residents to electrocution and fire hazards.
According to him, small businesses, artisans, healthcare facilities and educational institutions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of power disruptions, while the cost of replacing stolen materials diverted resources that could otherwise be invested in improving electricity services.
The commandant warned that the alleged involvement of buyers and receivers in the cases highlighted the need to tackle the market for stolen electrical materials alongside the theft itself.
“The NSCDC FCT Command will therefore pursue not only those who physically remove these materials but also those who knowingly purchase, receive, conceal or facilitate their sale,” he said.
He urged residents, community leaders, commercial motorcyclists, tricycle operators, traders and scrap-metal dealers to report suspicious activities around electricity installations to the appropriate authorities.
Odumosu said the command would sustain intelligence-led operations and strengthen collaboration with relevant stakeholders to protect critical national assets and infrastructure across the FCT.
The latest arrests follow an earlier operation in Kwali Area Council in which the corps paraded suspected AEDC cable vandals, signalling an expanded enforcement effort against the theft and destruction of electricity infrastructure in the federal ccapital territory. (vitalnewsngr.com)
