Five Nabbed for Vandalising Abuja Light Rail Track

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Transport Secretariat of FCT Administration, has arrested five suspects for vandalising the rail track of the Abuja Light Rail project.
The suspects specialised in vandalising perimeter fences, communication cabled and rail track cables were arrested by the security personnel assigned to guard the railway facilities.

Mandate Secretary, Transportation Secretariat Uboku Nyah, derided the destruction of the infrastructure as highly condemnable, when he visited the various sections of the vandalised rail track at Kukwuaba yesterday.

He vowed that appropriate authorities would institute legal action against the suspects to serve as a deterrent to others as government had invested heavily on the rail infrastructure to prove cheap and safe transportation for the people.

“We are sad to come and see what has happened. We got this report in the office that there had been a lot of vandalism on our protective fences, tracks and communication cables. We came to see what has been happening, and we can confirm what we have seen. It is sad and very condemnable that our people that we are working for are doing this because people didn’t come from outer space to cause this level of vandalisation.

“What this means is that we have to spend double, and delay the project. We had expected that within the year that the rail services will start.
“But, when we came here and saw that even the cables and the protective fences have been vandalised by our people, it is something that takes us back, and it is criminal for anybody to do this.
“That is why the Minister of FCT and government of FCT deson’t take it lightly, as the full weight of the law will be visited on the culprits,” Nyah said.

The General Supervisor, SEGAD Security Japhet MaiKeffi, said he and his men were on their routine patrol when they sighted the suspects digging the rail tracks to remove the armoured cables.