The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has broken up a criminal network involved in the theft and repurposing of vital state-owned infrastructure. The group is accused of stealing railway tracks, NNPC pipelines, and other assets and converting them into scrap for resale.
A widely shared video on social media recently exposed severe damage to the newly constructed Kaduna-Kano railway line and older rail fixtures. In response, Corps Commandant General Ahmed Abubakar Audi instructed the Special Intelligence Squad (SIS) and the Kaduna State Command to track down and apprehend those responsible.
According to a statement released Wednesday by NSCDC spokesperson ACC Afolabi Babawale, operatives launched a targeted raid on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. The SIS, led by Commandant Apollos Dandaura, partnered with the Kaduna State Command to raid and shut down the Kaduna facility of Inner Galaxy Steel Company in Birnin Yero, Igabi Local Government Area.
The statement explained that the operation followed weeks of careful intelligence gathering. It revealed that the company was using its scrap-buying business as a front to receive stolen railway materials, NNPC pipes, and Water Board equipment, which were then processed at the Kaduna site.
The vandals’ stolen railway lines and pipes were crushed into scrap metal at the Kaduna plant to disguise their original identity, then transported to the company’s main office in Aba, Abia State. There, the assets were melted down and turned into nails and iron rods for public sale, the statement added.
During the raid, twelve major suspects were taken into custody. Authorities recovered huge quantities of damaged railway tracks, sleepers, and suspected NNPC and Water Board pipes valued at billions of naira.
Commandant General Audi praised Commandant Dandaura and his team for their professionalism and courage. He warned that the corps would not tolerate economic sabotage and would pursue all perpetrators.