Ministry seeks public vigilance, support in combating bridge vandalism in Lagos

The Federal Ministry of Works has condemned the continued vandalism of bridge rails in Lagos State, in spite of casting the iron rails with concrete, in a bid to curb the menace.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mr Olufemi Dare, made this known while speaking with our correspondent on the vandalised bridge rails.

He expressed worry that hoodlums still break the concrete rails to remove the iron rods embedded inside them.

According to him, the ministry would again write to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other security agencies to intensify surveillance on bridges across the state.

Dare said that the EFCC recently arrested some suspects involved in vandalisation , and had brought them alongside the stolen items, to the ministry.

He advised Nigerians to protect public infrastructure the same way they would protect their personal asset, adding that the facilities are meant for the benefit of the public.

According to him. government spends huge sums of money to fix vandalised bridges and other infrastructure, and urged residents to desist from unpatriotic acts of vandalism.

The controller also appealed to Nigerians to take responsibility of public infrastructure, and report anyone found damaging them to security agencies.

He, however, warned residents not to take laws into their hands.

In his reaction, President of the Association of Scrap and Waste Pickers of Lagos, Mr Friday Oku, said that the association condemns vandalism in its entirety.

He, however, urged government to formalise the scrap and waste picking sector by creating a database of all operators and issuing identity cards to genuine members.

Oku noted that the association had started an in-house registration and issuance of identity cards to members who pay a token, as a way of formal identification.

He said that this would help distinguish genuine scrap and waste pickers, from criminals who disguise as operators in the sector.

According to him, a proper documentation and identification would help security agencies tackle vandalism more effectively.