Some of the vandalised rail track recovered from the suspects .
Cecilia Onah, Lafia
The Military Troop of the 4 Special Forces Command in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, have arrested 12 suspected rail track vandals at Angwan Yara in Keana LGA of the state.
Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of the command, Maj. Joseph Afolasade, made the disclosure at a press briefing in Doma on Friday.
According to him, the suspects were arrested after painstaking efforts of Army personnel who also rejected a bribe of N5million offered by the suspects for their release.
He said, “On June 15, 2023, troops of the Command during a routine patrol, intercepted five suspected rail track vandals at an abandoned railway station, between Angwan Yara and Agyaragu communities of Keana LGA.
“The suspects were arrested with large quantity of rail track loaded in two 12-tyres trucks.
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“In the course of investigation, the troops arrested additional seven suspects on June 18 who had made confessional statements.
“They admitted to have played various roles in the theft of the rail track and mentioned the names of some prominent persons in Nasarawa and Plateau States as being part of the syndicate.
“They offered to give our personnel N5 million to allow them go with the rail track, but our men rejected the money and arrested them.”
The Acting Deputy Director added that the Commander of the Special Forces, Maj.Gen. Owyinka Soyele, had ordered that the suspects be handed over to officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for further investigation and prosecution.
Speaking on the development, the Deputy Commandant of NSCDC in the state, Afere Joseph, expressed gratitude to the Army for its level of collaboration to tackle insecurity in the state, and assured that the suspects would be prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
