As part of efforts to rid the nation’s capital, Abuja of crime and criminality, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), FCT Command, says over 112 suspected vandals of Critical National Asset and Infrastructure (CNAI) were arrested by its personnel in 2025.
The FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, Dr Olusola Odumosu, who released the figure on Tuesday in Abuja, said that nine suspects were arrested in January; three suspects were arrested in February; two suspects in March; and one suspect arrested in April.
Giving further breakdown of the arrests during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Odumosu said “In May, four persons were arrested in relation to theft of armoured cables and telecommunication mast accessories, in June, four were arrested, in July, six were arrested and some are still at large for vandalising street lights.
“In August, 27 suspects were arrested; September had a record of 58 arrests, which was the highest in 2025, October recorded no arrests, in November, there were two arrests, while in December, the persons who vandalised ten recovered crash barriers were at large.”
According to the Commandant, the suspects were arrested for various offences such as telecommunication and fibre optic cables vandalism and theft, as well as destruction of billboards.
“There were theft of telecommunication gadgets and masts vandalism, street light dismantling as well as road crash barriers vandalism and theft,” he said.
He also disclosed that 15 of the cases were currently ongoing, four of them under investigation, while conviction has already been secured in five other cases. – With NAN report
