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By Sola Rotimi
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kwara State Command, has arrested two suspects over the alleged theft, vandalism and unlawful removal of electrical materials belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The State Commandant, Abbas Mohammed, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the Command headquarters in Ilorin on Tuesday.
Commandant Mohammed identified the suspects as 43-year-old Ishaq Kazeem and 41-year-old Abubakar Jubril, apprehended during an intelligence-led operation carried out by the Command’s operatives.
He explained that the suspects were arrested on July 10 at a mechanic workshop in the Zango area of Ilorin, where they were allegedly dismantling electrical materials suspected to have been stolen from the TCN Regional Store in Jebba.
Mohammed said preliminary investigations revealed that the brand-new electrical equipment had been unlawfully removed from the TCN facility and transported to Ilorin, where it was being broken down for sale as scrap.
According to him, operatives of the Command Intelligence Crack Squad acted on credible intelligence and caught the suspects using a grinding machine and sledgehammer to dismantle the equipment and extract iron components.
“Items recovered from the scene included a DAF truck with registration number BRK-48-XA (Kebbi), a mini truck with registration number ABJ-739-FX (Abuja), heavy-duty electrical insulation materials, metal conductor poles, iron bars, a generator, a grinding machine, a sledgehammer, a suspected burnt copper rod and other electrical components believed to be government property,” he said.
The Kwara NSCDC Commandant said investigations had been expanded to identify and arrest other members of the alleged syndicate, assuring that everyone involved would be prosecuted.
