The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Federal Capital Territory Command has arrested six suspected oil pipeline vandals for allegedly stealing Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, from an NNPC pipeline in Gwagwalada Area Council.
Conveying this in a statement on Thursday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Monica Ojobi, said the suspects were arrested at about 3:30 a.m. on July 18, 2026, during an intelligence-led operation by the Anti-Vandal Squad in Pagada I, Dobi Ward.
FCT Commandant, Dr. Olusola Odumosu, disclosed that operatives caught the suspects scooping fuel from a punctured pipeline with a drilling machine and loading it into jerrycans and plastic bags.
The suspects were identified as Yakubu Yahaya, 29; Garba Isah, 23; Mohammed Abubakar, 24; Yakubu Abdul, 20; Ibrahim Ishaku, 30; and Musa Abdulwahab, 20.
According to him, investigations revealed Yakubu Abdul, an indigene of Pagada I, allegedly recruited Garba Isah and Mohammed Abubakar from Lambata in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State to participate in the operation.
He alleged that three members of a local vigilante group were also involved in the crime by providing security cover for the vandals while the operation was ongoing.
He said his personnel recovered two motorcycles, four 25-litre jerrycans containing suspected PMS, two empty 25-litre jerrycans, one shovel, two locally fabricated firearms, and a hand drilling machine believed to have been used to puncture the pipeline.
The exhibits have been documented and secured to support ongoing investigations and prosecution.
He said the suspects had been profiled, cautioned and granted administrative bail to enable them contact their relatives while investigations continue, adding that efforts were underway to identify and arrest other members of the criminal network.
Odumosu condemned pipeline vandalism and the destruction of public infrastructure, describing such acts as economic sabotage capable of crippling the nation’s economy and threatening public safety.
He also warned that the NSCDC would continue to intensify surveillance around critical national assets and infrastructure across the FCT, stressing that anyone caught vandalising oil pipelines, transformers, armoured cables, streetlights, railway facilities, manhole covers or other public infrastructure would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
He noted that pipeline vandalism contributes to fuel scarcity, environmental degradation and increases the risk of fire outbreaks and explosions that endanger lives and agricultural activities in surrounding communities.
He lauded residents of Dobi community for providing useful intelligence that led to the arrests and urged other communities across the FCT to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible information.