The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested three suspected members of a group allegedly involved in the vandalism of an NNPC petroleum pipeline in Dafa, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The suspects were apprehended during an intelligence-driven operation carried out after security personnel received information about suspected activities along the pipeline Right of Way in the area.
FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, disclosed the development on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the corps’ Kwali Divisional Office.
Odumosu said the command had conducted several days of surveillance through its tactical team, with assistance from members of a local vigilante group, before moving to intercept the suspects.
According to him, the suspected vandals initially abandoned sections of the pipeline they had allegedly cut after noticing the presence of security operatives and fled the area.
He said they later returned on September 20, 2026, allegedly to recover the abandoned materials and load them into a truck.
“NSCDC operatives on surveillance, supported by members of the vigilante group, swiftly moved in and arrested three of the suspects, while some other members of the gang reportedly escaped into the surrounding bush,” he said.
The arrested suspects were identified as Maitama Inuwa, 30; Yahuza Danlami, 32; and Yasir Abdulrahman, 26.
Odumosu said Inuwa, a native of Rafin Dadi in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was allegedly behind the wheel of a truck with registration number MAK 159 XA (Niger), which was reportedly used to convey the dismantled pipeline sections.
Danlami, from Anguwan Kataf, Mariri, also in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was identified as the vehicle’s motor boy, while Abdulrahman, a native of Gajiri Village in Suleja, Niger State, was described as an alleged representative of buyers of the removed pipeline components.
The commandant disclosed that preliminary findings had also linked four other individuals to the operation, although they had yet to be apprehended.
He said the investigation so far pointed to the possible activities of an organised criminal network allegedly responsible for cutting, moving and arranging the illicit sale of components removed from the pipeline corridor.
Among the items recovered were a long commercial truck containing vandalised NNPC petroleum pipes and 17 pieces of the dismantled pipes.
Odumosu said the alleged vandals had been targeting secluded and forested sections of the FCT where petroleum pipelines pass through.
“These vandals operate in remote and forested areas where petroleum pipelines transit through the FCT. When it is dark, they deliberately dig up and cut these high-pressure pipelines into sizeable pieces for easy loading into their trucks,” he said.
He warned that tampering with petroleum infrastructure posed significant threats beyond financial losses, including potential explosions and environmental damage.
“This reckless activity not only causes massive economic losses to the country but also poses an immediate risk of catastrophic explosions and environmental degradation,” he said.
According to the commandant, the investigation would be widened to uncover those allegedly financing the operation and identify the intended buyers of the stolen pipeline materials.
“The command will work tirelessly to identify the end-buyers, the sponsors bankrolling this sabotage and subsequently enforce the full weight of the Miscellaneous Offences Act,” he stated.
Odumosu urged residents in communities around pipeline corridors to remain vigilant and alert security authorities to suspicious activities, especially digging and the movement of trucks through isolated locations.
“Do not shield these economic saboteurs; report any suspicious digging or unusual movement of trucks in remote areas to the NSCDC immediately. When you see something, please say something, and the NSCDC will do something,” he said.
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