The minister of works, Dave Umahi, has expressed  concern over increasing vandalism of critical road and bridge infrastructure across the country.

He described the trend as “sad and unfortunate”.

Mr Umahi said in Lagos that bridge parapets, expansion joints and other vital components of federal roads were being deliberately destroyed by vandals in search of iron materials.

“There are many cases where parapets of bridges have been destroyed and the reinforcements harvested.

“We had a case at the Second Niger Bridge where expansion joints were criminally removed.

“On the Abuja–Kano Road, you see New Jersey parapets totally destroyed because people are looking for iron,” Mr Umahi said.

He said that theft of cat’s-eye reflective lights on the Third Mainland Bridge was not new but said a recent arrest of suspects was made possible through the newly-installed Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) system.

“These lights are part of road infrastructure that beautify our roads and provide relief and safety for commuters.

”It is very sad that while the President is doing everything possible to fix our roads, some Nigerians are busy destroying what has been built,” Mr Umahi added.

The minister praised President Bola Tinubu for approving installation of CCTV cameras on major bridges.

He also commended the Nigeria Police Force for vigilance.

He noted that since cameras were installed on the Second Niger Bridge, vandalism there had stopped.

“I want to thank the police very highly for this show of vigilance. This has shown that the CCTV is working and that the police are at alert.

“We will deploy CCTV cameras on most of our roads to check vandalism, improve security, curb speeding and ensure safer travel for Nigerians,” he said.

Mr Umahi also called for increased police presence around critical sections of bridges to further deter criminal activity.

Earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Olufemi Dare, said that the CCTV control centre inaugurated about a week earlier had already begun yielding results.

“Just yesterday, criminals vandalised our cat’s-eye reflective lights along the yellow line on top of the bridge.

”A total of 156 lights were stolen. The commissioner of police alerted me that the suspects had been arrested and would be paraded, which was why I immediately informed the honourable minister,” Mr Dare said.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Lagos State Command, DCP Adesina Lawal, said the suspects were arrested while committing the offence due to real-time monitoring through the CCTV cameras.

“The activities of the vandals were monitored live through the cameras.

“The control room alerted the divisional police officer in charge of the area, who swiftly mobilised his men and arrested them on the spot.

The cameras greatly aided the operation,” Mr Lawal stated.

The CCTV control centre was inaugurated about a week ago by the minister of works as part of the federal government’s efforts to strengthen  protection of strategic road and bridge infrastructure.

It is also aimed to enhance security and improve road safety across the country.

The surveillance system, installed on major bridges including the Third Mainland Bridge, enables real-time monitoring of activities and rapid response by security agencies.

The Lagos incident marks the first major arrest recorded since the inauguration demonstrating the effectiveness of the initiative.

(NAN)