Over 100 Alleged Vandals Arrested in Abuja, Says NSCDC

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps FCT command said it arrested 112 alleged vandals of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure in 2025.

The FCT commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, gave the figure during an interview on Tuesday in Abuja.

Giving a breakdown of the arrests, Mr Odumosu said that in January, nine suspects were arrested; in February, three; in March, two; and in April, one.

“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, and 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,” he said.

He added that the suspects were arrested for various offences, including vandalism of telecommunication and fibre-optic cables, vandalism and theft, and 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.

The commandant disclosed that 15 cases were ongoing, four were under investigation, and convictions had been secured in five cases.

He further explained that some of the most vandalised infrastructure were adjoining offices, network providers, billboards, streetlights, national hospital streetlights, crash barriers, and FCT metropolis streetlights.

He frowned upon the spate of vandalism in the territory, noting that the federal government had invested heavily in infrastructural development.

Mr Odumosu reiterated the corps’ resolve to flush out vandals of CNAI while protecting public facilities’ installations.

He urged residents to join the fight against the destruction and theft of public property by providing credible intelligence to the appropriate security agencies.

“Security is a joint effort and until Nigerians realise that, we wouldn’t achieve as much as we should in ensuring a secure country,” he said.

Meanwhile, he cautioned those with criminal intentions in 2026 to desist or be ready to face the full wrath of the law if apprehended.

(NAN)