The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, arrested 112 vandals in 2025 for damaging critical national assets and infrastructure (CNAI) across the territory.
Speaking with THE WHISTLER on Tuesday in Abuja, NSCDC FCT Commandant Dr. Olusola Odumosu, provided a month-by-month breakdown of arrests, prosecutions, and the Corps’ commitment to protecting telecommunications, streetlights, crash barriers, and other national infrastructure.
Odumosu disclosed that January recorded nine arrests, February three, March two, and April one.
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May and June each saw four arrests for theft of armoured cables and telecommunication mast components, while August accounted for 27 arrests. September recorded the highest spike with 58 suspects detained. November saw two arrests, while December recorded none, with several suspects still at large.
Odumosu noted that 15 cases are ongoing, four are under investigation, and five have secured convictions so far.
The offences ranged from telecommunications and fibre-optic cable vandalism and theft, destruction of billboards, streetlight dismantling, to the stealing of road crash barriers and other public property.
Odumosu expressed concern at the scope of vandalism within the FCT, noting that the Federal Government has invested heavily in infrastructural development, only to see those investments eroded by criminal elements.
“The nation’s critical installations, such as streetlights, telecom facilities, and road safety barriers, are being targeted. These acts not only sabotage government efforts but also deepen the infrastructural challenges facing the country,” he said, urging residents to support security agencies with credible intelligence.
Meanwhile, vandalism in Nigeria is not confined to the FCT.
In Ogun State, over 50 vandals were arrested for similar offences between October 2024 and September 2025, according to NSCDC state command data made available by the Commandant, Remilekun Ekundayo. The offenders targeted power cables, telecommunication cables, transformers, and railway lines, among other installations.
Between May and July 2025, multiple incidents were reported across Rivers, Ogun, Lagos, and others, affecting fibre-optic cables, batteries, generators and solar system installations.
According to official reports, acts of vandalism affect multiple sectors beyond telecoms.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported numerous attacks on high-voltage transmission towers over recent years, incurring billions of naira in repair costs and frequent grid collapses.
However, Odumosu reiterated that the Corps is fully committed to flushing out vandals and protecting public facilities in FCT.
He warned that illegal mining operations would face stringent enforcement in 2026.
“Security is a joint effort, and until Nigerians realise that, we won’t achieve as much as we should in ensuring a secured country,” he said.