Niger State Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Commandant Joachin Okafor, has declared war against all acts of vandalism on all critical national assets in the state.
Commandant Okafor, who was speaking on his assumption of duty in the state as the 16th Commandant of the Corps, however, disclosed that the command under his watch will work assiduously to effectively prosecute the mandate of the corps without compromise.
He hinted that with the renewed vigour, the anti-vandal squad of the command, through credible intelligence, has arrested four suspects at Sabon Wuse in the Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State for their alledged involvement in illegal dealing in petroleum products.
The state commandant, according to the state Public Relations Officer of the Corps (CDPR0), SC Nasir O. Abdullahi, in a press release issued and signed by him yesterday and obtained by a Newsline crime correspondent, said the arrest of the suspects was based on the available credible intelligence that led them to swung into action from where the four suspects operating at the oil dump site were arrested.
According to him, the suspects were Abdullahi Musa, 45 years old, from Jigawa State; Huseni Suleiman, 25 years old, hailing from Nassarawa; Murtala Mohammed, 37 years old, from Kano; and Mohammed Sanusi, 35 years old, also from Kano, a dealer of engine oil, petrol, and gas.
Commandant Okafor hinted that the day of their arrest, the suspects were caught pouring about three drums of crude oil in a Carver concrete container in the Kango company in preparation for mixing.
He disclosed further that an apartment used for soap production was also sighted by his men and officers of the anti-vandal squad with many drums and chemicals without any operating licence to show.
He said that a thorough investigation would be carried out by the command to ascertain the level of their involvement, after which they would be charged in court for prosecution.