Collage photo of Yong Xing Steel Company, Abuja and Mr. Marra Thai, manager of the company arrested for buying vandalised railway baskets.
By Abasifreke Effiong, Abuja.
The Police in Nasarawa State have burst a syndicate that specializes in vandalisation and selling of railway infrastructure in the Northern Nigeria.
The police launched a discreet operation to unravel those behind the vandalisation and theft of railway baskets after a national outcry earlier this month.
The Nasarawa State Police command made a major breakthrough in the investigation on Tuesday by arresting a Chinese, Mr. Marra Thai, who has been identified as the biggest purchaser of vandalised and stolen railway baskets in the North-West and North-Central States.
READ : Against Governor Emmanuel’s claim, ‘we are owed four years leave grant’ – NULGE
Mr. Thai has been been operating as a scrap-buying and recycling company but his major trade is buying stolen rail line baskets.
Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari has spent over $300 million to reactivate railways across the country, with the Chinese Government being the major contractor.
The Dune gathered exclusively that Mr. Marra Thai, Manager of Yong Xing Steel Company, was arrested by the police in his company’s yard, at Tungan Ma Je, Abuja.
“One of the suspects, a truck driver who delivers vandalised rail line baskets from Nasarawa State to Mr. Marra Thai, in Abuja, led police to the Company”, a police source said.
A staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps were also arrested among the syndicate, the police said.
Also, the Special Assistant to Nasarawa State Governor on Infrastructure, Mr. Yusuf Abubakar Musa alias Yusuf Mada Station has also been arrested by the police and is currently in police detention.
Our sources said the Governor’s aide and one Mohammed Isiaka, a former supervisor for education from Nasarawa Eggon local government are the middlemen who buy vandalised rail baskets from locals in Kogi, Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa States and sell them to the Chinese.
The Dune learnt that the Police in Nasarawa State have in a large- scale operation coordinated by the Anti-Kidnapping unit of the command arrested about 16 suspects involved in the destruction, stealing and sales of railway infrastructure in the North-Central and North-Western regions.
Our sources stated that police investigations have pinned down Mr. Marra Thai’s company, Yong Xing Steel, as the biggest buyer of vandalised railway baskets in the Northern region.
The Dune had reported earlier that the Police in Nasarawa State were under pressure to release some of the eight suspects earlier arrested in connection to the crime.
Our sources alleged that the S.A to Nasarawa State Governor, Yusuf Abubakar Musa, who is in police detention has been sending people to beg the Governor to forgive him and send for his release, a claim which The Dune could not independently verify as of the time of filling this report.
However, it was gathered that Yusuf had confessed to the police that he sold a truck-load of the rail baskets he vandalised and stole from the Lafia – Gudi section of the Makurdi – Lafia – Jos rail line for the sum of N4.6 million.
It would be recalled that the Nasarawa State Governor, Mr. Abdullahi Sule, had warned residents against the vandalisation of the railway.
READ ALSO : Lebanese residing in Jos sexually assaults 14 teenage girls, one tests positive with HIV
Meanwhile, Police Public Relations Officer in Nasarawa State, ASP Ramhan Nansel, said the suspects will be paraded on Thursday.
“We have arrested about 16 suspects so far in connection to the railway vandalisation.”
“We have arrested many suspects including a foreign national, one railway corporation staff, one Civil Defence officer, a Special Assistant to the Governor, a former supervisory councillor in one of the local government areas in Nasarawa State. All of them are in detention.”
“We are going to parade them tomorrow”, ASP Nansel said.
SOME STORIES ABOUT NASARAWA STATE
• We will accept ban on open grazing in Nasarawa if … MACBAN
• Housing: Nasarawa Govt To Build 4,400 houses for residents
This is a courageous and commendable investigative breakthrough. Arresting the end-user of the vandalised railway slippers was one of the best solutions towards addressing the destruction of our railway lines. I also commended the thorough and diligent investigation of the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the Nasarawa State Command.