NSCDC arrests, parades suspects of vandalism and theft in Lagos.
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have paraded seven arrested suspects in Lagos for offenses including the vandalization of national assets, theft and other criminal activities, crediting the cooperation and engagement of the community, private institution and intelligence gathering for yielding positive result in the fight against criminality.
During the parade which took place on the 29th of June at the Command headquarters at Awolowo Road, Alausa, Ikeja, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Oluwaseun Abolurin said that the apprehension was made possible as a result of intelligence from residents and security stakeholders across Lagos State, under the leadership of the state’s Commandant, Mr Adedotun Keshinro.
According to him, two suspects were arrested at the Okun Ajah area on the 27th of June for vandalizing armoured cables worth millions of naira. The command acted based on credible intelligence from the community, through Proton Security Limited, giving credit to the collaboration between the NSCDC, private institutions and other stakeholders for the swiftness of the operation.
He gave a brief account of the operation “The suspects were arrested after the vandalized cables had been loaded into a shuttle bus, popularly known as “Korope” with the registration number MUS 109 YH, which has been impounded as an exhibit.”
He added that two other suspects linked to the criminal operation escaped and are being tracked by security operatives.
“The two suspects who are at large can only run, but they cannot hide forever.” He said.
Meanwhile, he revealed that another suspect had been arrested on June 26 in connection with a transformer cable vandalism in Shogunle area of Oshodi, while other suspects involved in the theft of eight lithium batteries from Orchid Road, Lekki were arrested earlier at about 4:00 pm on June 15.
According to him, prosecution is already ongoing for another suspect, 44, for the alleged theft of an RRU inverter. Due investigation is ongoing regarding other cases before the suspects are charged to court.
In another revelation by the NSCDC, two deserters from the Togolese army in different operation across the state were among the arrested suspects. It added that upon the completion of preliminary investigations, the suspects would be handed over to the appropriate security agencies.
One of the suspects, a commercial driver from Benue State identified as Sonte Teima, 27, denies participation in vandalism and claims to have been hired to transport the vehicles, unaware that they were stolen. He says his claim is based upon the fact that he was engaged by men in military uniforms, believing they were legitimate.
NSCDC attributed successes to sustained community engagement, lamented that the attacks on public infrastructure are behind the disruptions in electricity supply and telecommunication services, describing those acts as economic sabotage that negatively affect millions of Nigerians. The agency also assured that investigations were ongoing to determine the level of involvement of each suspect, and to apprehend other members of the criminal group prior to their prosection.
