The suspects were arrested on October 11 after police operatives intercepted a white J5 vehicle during a routine stop-and-search operation along the Kurfi–Tsanni Village Road, the state police command has said.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq-Aliyu, the operatives searched the vehicle and discovered 70 railway sleepers concealed behind 17 bags of animal feed, raising suspicions that the agricultural cargo was being used to disguise the transportation of the suspected stolen materials.
Sadiq-Aliyu disclosed the development in a statement issued in Katsina on Sunday, explaining that preliminary investigations had begun to establish the circumstances surrounding the movement of the railway sleepers and identify those involved in their alleged vandalisation.
He said one of the suspects, identified simply as Nuhu, had reportedly confessed to receiving the items from Anas Mohammed, a resident of Bauchi State who is currently at large.
The railway sleepers were allegedly being transported for delivery to another individual, Umar Bashir, in Katsina, according to the police spokesperson.
The reported involvement of individuals in different locations has widened the scope of the investigation, with police working to track down the fleeing suspects and determine where the railway materials were removed from.
The four arrested suspects remain in police custody, while the intercepted vehicle, the 70 railway sleepers and the 17 bags of animal feed have been recovered and secured as exhibits, Sadiq-Aliyu said.
He added that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the suspects still at large and establish the precise location where the railway sleepers were allegedly vandalised.
The incident has again drawn attention to the vulnerability of critical public infrastructure to vandalism and the need for stronger surveillance and public cooperation to protect assets essential to transportation and economic development.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police in Katsina State, Mr Ali Umar-Fage, reiterated the command’s commitment to combating the vandalisation of critical national infrastructure and bringing suspected offenders to justice.
Umar-Fage urged members of the public to provide timely and credible information that could assist security operatives in preventing crime, identifying suspected criminals and recovering public assets.
The police said investigations were continuing, as efforts intensified to establish the full circumstances of the alleged crime and apprehend those still being sought.
