By Our Reporter
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has summoned Chinese nationals linked to Inner Galaxy Steel Company and Jiuxing Integrity Industrial Ltd over alleged involvement in railway infrastructure vandalism and ordered the closure of the firms’ facilities nationwide.
The NSCDC said the action followed the discovery of what it described as a sophisticated syndicate engaged in the systematic destruction and recycling of critical national infrastructure.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Corps’ National Public Relations Officer, Afolabi Babawale, the agency disclosed that it had obtained a court order authorising the sealing of all branches and subsidiaries of the companies across the country.
According to the statement, suspects connected to the syndicate are being investigated for conspiracy, theft, destruction of railway infrastructure, concealment of stolen property, and alleged terrorism financing.
Babawale said operatives of the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad, acting on search warrants and court directives, raided one of the firms’ facilities located in Birnin Yero, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
During the operation, railway sleepers and tracks suspected to have been vandalised were recovered and handed over to the Nigerian Railway Corporation as exhibits for prosecution.
The NSCDC spokesman revealed that confessions obtained from arrested workers exposed a coordinated operation in which stolen railway materials were transported to the companies’ headquarters in Aba and other branches for melting and recycling.
“The stolen steel was converted into commercial products such as nails and roofing sheets,” he said.
The corps added that the closure order also affects the companies’ headquarters at Ahala Ukwa Village, Umuahala Community, Obuzor Ukwu in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, as well as another facility in Tasha Rawayyah, Gusau, Zamfara State.
Babawale noted that the Chinese nationals managing the companies had been formally invited for questioning but had yet to honour the summons.
“The Chinese nationals involved in the management of the complex have been formally summoned by the NSCDC but have yet to appear before investigators,” the statement added.
Commandant General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, directed investigators to handle the case professionally while ensuring all those found culpable face prosecution.
“Every single suspect found culpable in this bleeding of our nation’s commonwealth will face the full wrath of the law,” Audi said, reaffirming the corps’ commitment to tackling infrastructure vandalism nationwide.
The NSCDC also praised the judiciary for granting the legal backing for the operation and urged Nigerians to continue providing credible intelligence to support efforts against economic sabotage and infrastructure theft.
