Security operatives arrest railways cable thief
Security operatives guarding railway facilities at Idu Train Station, Abuja, have arrested a middle-aged man for allegedly vandalising the Nigerian Railways Corporation’s (NRC) fiber optic cables used for commutations.
The Railways Divisional Police Officer (RDPO), Idu Train Station, Superintendent Idu Raphael, said, yesterday, that the suspect was arrested following a tip-off by a staff of the Kwochason Gblobal Guards Limited, a private security guard in the train station.
He said that the suspect, identified as Eremmiah Friday, who resided at a village near the Idu Station, was arrested after he had allegedly cut the communication cable.
“He was arrested on September 29, 2016, at about 4:00pm, and he had with him the tools he used in cutting the cables,” Raphael said.
He warned criminal elements within the AbujaKaduna rail system to desist from vandalising NRC equipment.
He said that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were completed.
“This arrest is significant because it will send a warning signal to other criminals on the train corridor,” he said, adding that security on IduKaduna train was improved with the police having more than 200 personnel on the ground.
Mr Paschal A. Nnorli, the Liason Officer/Manager, Abuja-Kaduna Railway, NRC, confirmed the vandalisation.
He said that the suspect vandalised some metres of the optical fibre cables enhancing communication between the central control room and the stations on the corridor to Kaduna.
“Because of that vandalisation, we are not able to communicate effectively but we have devised other means of communicating with them. That is why we are still having hitch-free operations,” he said.
“I think the guy thought it was an armored cable but an optic cable is useless to him because he can’t even sell it anywhere in Nigeria. It’s out of misconception that they are vandalising the cable.”