Vandalization of Abuja light rail: FCTA arrests 7, reiterates commitment to deliver project on schedule

 

 

 

Favour Ishember, Abuja

 

 

Authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has vowed prosecute Five suspected  vandals of protective fences, tracks and communication cables on the Abuja metro rail, as it’s reiterate commitment to deliver the rain line within the stellated time.

 

The Mandate Secretaries, FCT Transportation Secretariat, Mr. Uboku Nyah who dropped this hint shortly after a tour at the rain station at Kukuaba district, in Abuja,said papetrators of the act  will face the full weight of the law.

 

 

In the words of the Mandate Secretary: “Over the past few days, the FCT Minister has been emphasizing  the importance of efficient transportation particularly the rail transportation, in line with the vision of the renewed hope agenda of the President, in providing cheap and safe transportation for our people

 

“The anchor of that is on the rail transportation, which can move the people massively from one place to another, and government has invested heavily in that infrastructure. We are sad to come and see what has happened. We got this report in the office that there have been a lot of vandalisation on our protective fences, tracks and communication cables.

 

“We came to see what has been happening, and we can confirm what we have seen. It is sad and very condemnable that our people that we are working for are doing this , because people didn’t come from outer space to cause this level of vandalisation”

 

Mr. Nyah however said in spite  of the set back that may have been caused by the vandals, the Abuja metro rail project will be delivered at the stipulated time, but with more funds and resources.

 

 

“With very scarce resources available to us, we still have to go back on what have be placed, to fund again, but for the timely availability of the rail service and for the President to ride on it, we are very excited and we are waiting for a day that this will be achieved” he said.

 

“What this means is that we have to spend double, and delay the project. We had expected that within the year that the rail services will start. But, when we came here and see that even the cables and the protective fences have been vandalised by our people, it is something that takes us back, and it is criminal for anybody to do this”.

 

 

Fortunately, a few of these people have been taken in, and whatever  is due legally will be done to discourage other people  from acting against the interest of the government and the people.

 

” Building rail, roads and  providing buses,  it is for the masses, so all of us will benefit. And we in the FCT are against this kind action, and we will continue to crush and visit heavy sanctions on the people that are doing this.

 

So far, there are about seven (7) that have been arrested.

 

On the mandate of Mr. President to ride in the Merro rail, he said : “The president will still rid  on Metro within due time, the only thing it does is that it calls us to greater work, with some level of additional expenditure, because  we still have to deliver the quality  that we had envisioned originally. No matter what is vandalized , we have to replace them, so that brings additional cost.”

 

“It is our mandate and we are pleased that we are going to deliver on the mandate, so we must deliver transportation for our people in the FCT that is cheap, safe and we are working on a system foe security” he assured.

 

On  how the arrest was effected, the General Supervisor, SEGAD Security Japhet MaiKeffi, narrated that, he and his men were on their routine patrol when they sighted the suspects digging the rail tracks to remove the armoured cables.

 

He added that his team immediately swung into action by chasing the suspected vandals who took to their heels to escape arrest that night. But their vigilance and strategy paid off in the early hours of Wednesday when the unfortunate suspects ran into their ambush on heir way to continue their nefarious activities.

 

“Day before yesterday, we went out for general patrol, so around 2:10 am, we saw four young people (suspects) digging the rail tracks, to remove the armoured cables   inside the bush, immediately we parked, and flashed torchlight, and immediately they noticed us, they started running, we begun chasing them.

 

“And we laid ambushed inside the bush while waiting for them,  till about 5:05 Am, then one of them was seen coming out with a shovel on his hand, that was when we immediately arrested him.

 

He added that they used the arrested suspect’s phone to track others to their residences in a Baba-bola (scavengers) settlement at Gwagwa, where they were all arrested and taken into custody.”

 

The lead member of the gang who gave his name as Salisu Ibrahim and spoke in Hausa language narrated that: “On our way to work(cable vandalism)in the middle of the night, we sighted a torch light from a far and we guessed it must be coming from the security personnel assigned to guard the rail way facilities. Am actually a motor mechanic, but had to switch into vandalism due to lack of job and its lucrativeness.

 

“As we attempted approaching them to clear ourselves, suddenly a vehicle started chasing us and in our confused state, we took to our heels to escape from the security men.

 

“We thought everything was over the next morning and decided to resume from where we stopped the previous night, but unfortunately we walked into their ambush and I was apprehended.

 

“Our work is to