Nigerian railway company NRC has expressed concern over the level of vandalism and theft of its infrastructure across the country.

The Managing Director, Mr Freeborn Okhirie, expressed this concern during a visit to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) headquarters in Abuja.

Okhirie commended the NSCDC for its tireless efforts to protect Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI), which has over the years led to the arrest of obstructionist thieves.

He, however, said despite the efforts of the NSCDC to rescue the NRC from economic saboteurs, the company continued to incur losses due to vandalism at its facilities across the country.

“Vandals are still destroying the railway tracks, while the number of perpetrators is increasing, despite the many arrests,” he fumed.

According to the NRC boss, all hands must be on deck to tackle the disturbing trend, which he described as “an organized conspiracy to commit economic sabotage.”

He called for stronger cooperation between key stakeholders and security agencies to hold the perpetrators and sponsors of such vandalism accountable.

Okhirie urged Nigerians to provide information that would lead to the arrest of suspects so that the infrastructure meant to meet the needs of the public would be secured.

NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Audi indicated that the Corps had seized more than 20 trailers with destroyed sleepers.

“Numerous suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime of vandalism of railway slippers,” he revealed.

Audi said it was prepared to work harder to put a stop to the incidents, but at the same time criticized the slow pace at which the suspects are being prosecuted.

He said the NSCDC would strengthen its disciplinary measures and impose sanctions on personnel who sabotaged the joint effort.

Audi asked NRC for help in ensuring the well-being of the staff deployed to protect the railway infrastructure.