Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ogun State command, has declared a total war against vandals, particularly electricity installations and pipeline vandals.
The state’s Commandant of the Corps, Philip Ayodele, gave this declaration, on Monday, during a press briefing held at the NSCDC’s headquarters, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta.
The commandant added that Ogun NSCDC has stepped efforts and put in place, a special combat team to tackle vandalism in the state, just as it disclosed that the surviving member of the three-man vandal gang who died in a pipeline explosion last week in Ogere area, has also died on Saturday.
“On June 8, two suspected pipeline vandals died in pipeline explosion, while the lone survivor by name Animasaun Segun also died on Saturday while helping us with some useful intelligence.
“Animasaun had once been a victim of fire explosion during some of his illicit acts and nemesis only taught him a bitter lesson having refused to learn.
“Before his death, he confessed to have started this nefarious acts as a teenager and that the whole stuff seemed to be conscription into ‘cultic’ group and it’s impossible to withdraw.
“He mentioned that he started the illicit act in 2012 when he was 16 years old”. The Commandant explained.
He further stated that the Command has set up a collaboration with the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to tackle vandalism of electricity cables and pipelines respectively in the state.
This, Ayodele noted, was to ensure adequate protection of critical national assets from being tampered with by criminals, emphasizing “the Corps had stepped up surveillance around pipelines and electricity installations in the state in order to put an end to vandalism of these critical assets.”
“We have instituted several legal proceedings on suspected vandals of IBEDC cables across the state and have also established a combat team against vandalism of all sorts in order to rid the state of crime, ” he added.
Ayodele, however, reiterated that Ogun NSCDC would not condone any act of criminality especially in the areas of disruption, vandalism and misuse of government infrastructure.