The Adamawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has intercepted a truck allegedly conveying pipes belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The State Commandant, Idris Bande, disclosed this on Monday in Yola while parading the suspects linked to the incident.
Bande said the interception followed intelligence received from residents in the community where the pipes were loaded.
“The villagers took pictures of the truck and its number plate and forwarded them to us for action,” he explained.
“I immediately deployed my men to the Jalingo–Yola Road, and the truck was intercepted.”
He noted that the truck driver allegedly removed a component from the vehicle in an attempt to render it immobile after realising the security operatives were closing in.
“We contacted the owner of the truck and he assured us he would report to the command, but he failed to show up,” Bande said.
“After six days of guarding the vehicle on the highway, we decided to tow it to our headquarters.”
According to the NSCDC, the truck was loaded with over 200 pipes, suspected to have been stolen from NNPCL property. Bande added that a similar interception was made three weeks earlier, involving another truck loaded with more than 300 pipes.
He said the NNPCL depot manager in Adamawa had been invited and confirmed that the pipes belonged to the company.
“Investigation has been concluded. The suspects will be charged to court. Anyone engaged in vandalising or stealing government property should desist or be ready to face the full wrath of the law,” the Commandant warned.
The truck driver, Adamu Ahmed, however, claimed during interrogation that he did not act alone, alleging security involvement.
“Soldiers and NSCDC officers escorted me to where the pipes were loaded,” Ahmed told journalists.
“I was taking the pipes to Gombe to sell.”
This arrest comes after a previous operation on September 30, 2025, where the command apprehended five suspected vandals transporting 204 units of NNPCL pipes concealed under chaff along the Jalingo–Numan Road.
The NSCDC says investigations are ongoing to uncover a wider network of pipeline vandalism and illegal sale of government property in the region.
