12 suspected rail track vandals have been arrested by troops of the 4 Special Forces, Doma, Nasarawa State, at Angwan Yara, Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Maj. Joseph Afolasade, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations of the Command, disclosed this at a press briefing on Friday, June 30, in Doma.
Maj. Afolashade said soldiers also rejected a bribe of N5 million offered by the suspects after their arrest. The suspects claimed that they were deceived by their sponsors, who are on the run.
The army spokesperson 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 a large quantity of rail tracks loaded in two trucks.
“In the course of the 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 tracks and mentioned 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 tracks, but our men rejected the money and arrested them.”
Afolashade said Maj.-Gen. Owyinka Soyele, Commander of the Special Forces, has approved the handover of the suspects to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for further investigation and prosecution.
