Scavengers on rampage

How some elements’re plundering public infrastructure

Nigeria is dealing with an unusual enemy, scavengers! Many call them silent terrorists who strip public infrastructure of valuable components in exchange for cash.

Often appearing harmless and blending easily into their surroundings, some of these scavengers have moved beyond collecting discarded materials to removing critical components from public assets.  Their activities are leaving bridges weakened, road furniture damaged, manhole covers missing, rail tracks compromised, drainage systems compromised and electrical installations exposed.

From Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt to Kano, public infrastructure has come under consistent attacks by scavengers. What looks like ordinary survival activity has become a growing menace, raising safety concerns and imposing additional financial burdens on governments already struggling to maintain the nation’s fragile infrastructure.

Social commentators have described their activities as another form of economic terrorism and have urged governments at all levels to fortify security around key infrastructure that could attract scavengers.

Last week, a disturbing video surfaced on social media. It revealed how scavengers damaged the bridge linking Festac Town and Alakija, Lagos. They broke into its concrete pillars and removed iron rods and other steel components embedded in them.

The facility has now morphed from a public social support system to a serious safety threat. What is meant to make lives better is on the verge of taking them.

The video shows damaged sections of the bridge and police officers clearing shanties reportedly erected underneath it.

The bridge, which was constructed by the Federal Housing Authority about five years ago, is expected to provide an important link for residents and motorists in the area. But its structural components are now being targeted for materials that can be sold as scrap.

In the video, an unidentified man expressed concern over the extent of the damage and appealed to the authorities to act before the situation gets worse.

“This is the bridge constructed to link Alakija and FESTAC. These scavengers have started removing the iron rods from the pillars supporting the bridge. This is what they have been doing to all the pillars holding the bridge,” he said.

According to him, the vandals were breaking the concrete covering the pillars to get to the iron rods inside.

“They broke the concrete and started removing the iron rods. This is disturbing. How can scavengers be doing this in Lagos?” he asked.

The concern is simple: a bridge is only as safe as its structural components. The concrete may be what people see from outside, but the steel reinforcement inside helps the structure withstand the heavy loads and stresses it faces every day.

Removing those materials is therefore not ordinary theft. It can weaken the bridge and potentially put the lives of motorists, pedestrians and other road users at risk.

The man in the video warned that continued vandalism could have serious consequences.

“This bridge was constructed by the Federal Housing Authority about five years ago, and this is what it has turned into. If this continues for another two years, imagine what will become of the bridge. I mean, it is facing an imminent collapse,” he said.

While the video raised alarm over the condition of the bridge, the Lagos State Government moved to address the situation. OkThe Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said 27 suspected hoodlums had been arrested following a midnight enforcement operation beneath the bridge.

According to Wahab, the government’s investigation showed that the vandals were not only removing iron rods but were also targeting other materials essential to the bridge.

“Investigations revealed that suspected hoodlums had deliberately vandalised critical structural components of the bridge by removing iron rods, steel reinforcements, cables, and other supporting materials essential to the integrity of the infrastructure,” he said.

The commissioner described the development as a serious threat to public safety and government investment in infrastructure.

“This criminal act poses a serious threat to public safety and undermines the government’s investment in critical infrastructure,” Wahab said.

The operation, he explained, involved operatives of the Rapid Response Squad and the Kick Against Indiscipline task force. The 27 suspects arrested are expected to face prosecution under Lagos State laws.

When scrap becomes more valuable than safety

The incident highlights a wider problem confronting cities across Nigeria: the theft of public infrastructure for scrap.

For some scavengers, the iron rods, steel, cables and other materials hidden inside public structures are simply items that can be sold for money. But what may appear to be a small piece of metal to a scrap dealer could be an important part of a bridge, road, drainage system or electricity installation.

Once removed, replacing the stolen material can cost the government far more than the amount the vandals make from selling it.

There is also the danger to innocent people who use the infrastructure without knowing that its components have been tampered with.

In the case of the Festac-Alakija bridge, the alleged removal of reinforcement from its pillars raises questions about how long the structure can withstand further interference and whether the affected sections require immediate technical inspection.

The incident also raises questions about security around public infrastructure. The fact that shanties were reportedly erected beneath the bridge suggests that the area may have become a convenient location for activities that are difficult to monitor.

Beyond arresting suspected vandals, authorities may therefore need to determine the extent of the damage, conduct a professional structural assessment and secure the affected areas.

For residents and road users, the message is clear: vandalising a bridge is not merely stealing government property. It can turn a public facility into a danger zone.

A bridge built to connect communities should not become a target for those looking for scrap metal. If the vandalism continues unchecked, the financial cost of repairs could rise sharply, while the potential danger to the public could be even greater.

The Lagos State Government has promised continued enforcement against vandals and other activities threatening public infrastructure.

For the Festac-Alakija bridge, however, enforcement may only be the beginning. The immediate priority is to establish exactly how much damage has been done and ensure that the structure remains safe for the thousands of people who depend on it.

In Abuja, the activities of daredevil vandals are threatening the infrastructural landscape of the nation’s capital.

From Wuse to Utako, Asokoro to Maitama, Gwarinpa to the Central Business District, activities of infrastructure scavengers are defacing the city and robbing it of all efforts to become globally competitive.

Checks by Daily Sun have shown that vandals now target traffic lights, streetlights, manhole lids, irons used for bridges and other important materials used to build public infrastructure.

The horror is more rampant in satellite towns like Kubwa, Zuba, Mararaba and others, where security patrols are low.

Worrisomely, the theft of these public infrastructure has worsened the security situation in many areas because at night, criminals latch on the darkness caused by the absence of streetlights to rob and maim hapless citizens.

More so, in areas where the traffic lights have been destroyed, traffic management becomes a tough task, just as accidents are on the rise in many chaotic jurisdictions.

The scavengers, Daily Sun gathered, sell metals like streetlight and traffic light poles and manhole lids to scrap metal dealers for ridiculously low amounts.

They in turn sell to local iron smelters in various parts of the country for recycling into other materials.

Residents insist there should be no justification for stripping cities and suburbs of vital social amenities as the consequences far outweigh the gains anticipated by the looters.

Sharing his awful experience, a former staff of Nigerian Tribune, Mr. Sanya Adejokun, told Daily Sun how he tried to illuminate his neighbourhood in Gbazango area of Kubwa with streetlights, since the government had failed to do something in that regard.

According to him, “I live in an area of town that authorities seem completely oblivious of even though the layout is in the master plan and you cannot build without approval.

“Every year, council officials drop tenement bills but there is almost no government presence. Our street is usually dark and lonely because people are either away at work in the day or locked inside their apartments at night.

“I, therefore, decided to illuminate the area by installing solar street lights. Each unit cost about ₦20,000 or so when I installed them some three years ago. On a particular morning as I watched an early morning magazine programme on television before leaving for work, I suddenly heard a cracking sound outside.

“At first, I didn’t make much of it at first but when I heard it again after a few minutes, I quickly ran out trying to find out what was happening. The entire street was empty but as I raised my head to check again, I noticed that two of the three lights had been torn away.

“Two things saddened me. The first was the amount of money I spent buying the lights, which today are almost three times the price and second was the destruction to it. Because the vandal(s) were in a hurry, they couldn’t unscrew them and so just tore them off.”

In Lugbe, a fast-growing Abuja suburb along the airport road, criminals have discouraged individual efforts at tackling infrastructure challenges plaguing the area.

According to Mary Akintunde, a teacher who resides in the area, vandals keep destroying the locally-fabricated security alert systems used by local vigilantes to coordinate security in the area.

“Because of the increasing level of insecurity, especially as the year winds down, vigilantes in my area usually use iron bars and vehicle wheels to improvise for a security alert system.

“But this hardly lasts as the criminals, always lurking around, steal these facilities and make alerting residents of any danger a major challenge.

“These same criminals won’t let streetlights serve their purpose of illuminating our area. Either they demolish it from the base, or they simply steal the bulbs and solar panels.

“This is most unfortunate. I wonder who these criminals sell these stolen items to. The security agencies should wake up,” she lamented.

Beside the activities of vandals, collapsing infrastructure in the Territory is another challenge. Streetlights seldom work and worsening road conditions is another concern.

Dr. Imeh Goodhead, a private security guard in one of the leading companies in Abuja, blamed security agencies and FCT authorities for not thoroughly investigating and prosecuting cases of public infrastructure theft because some elites are allegedly involved.

“All these things you see are done with a mindset. In my years of experience, certain Administrations have seen reasons to abandon the investigation of theft when they discover that some elites are involved and may be exposed.

“Here, we are not talking about traffic lights alone. What about the streetlights which they vandalise to make ways for robbery to thrive? We in the security business know this so well and the residents of FCT should be well aware of these facts.

“You can take a look at the entire FCT capital in the night and you will witness a different FCT, far from what it used to be. Today, every nook and cranny is a hideout due to darkness that has enveloped the city. Criminals now operate at will with dangerous weapons. Bags snatching at gunpoint in dark places. This has made the Administration ban late hour operation of gardens and event places but is that the solution?”, he queried.

Another public infrastructure targeted by vandals is manhole lids.

Aside from damaging vehicles and limbs of commuters, petty thieves now take advantage of ‘unclad’ manholes to steal steel pipes, wires and other facilities meant to boost infrastructure development in the FCT.

Recounting his horrible experience after slumping into one of the manholes in Abuja, a civil servant, Mathilda Uchenna said: “It was a rainy day on that fateful Saturday morning in September when I was going to the market. I was trying to hitch a ride but I didn’t know there was an open around where I stood. As I attempted to board the vehicle, I slumped into it because it was filled with water and looked like the normal road water-logged road. It tore my skirt and my left lap.

“From there, I landed at the hospital. It was deep and my phone fell into it. Thank goodness it wasn’t wide, it would have swallowed me”, she lamented.

Another victim, a 50-year-old trader, Janet Michael, said she mistakenly fell into a manhole around the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

According to her, after alighting from a cab, she did not know there was an opened manhole and before she could say jack, she was inside the hole.

“I was so embarrassed when it happened to me. It took the intervention of passersby to pull me out. I got bruises on my right leg and a scratch on my face.

“I had to cancel my activities for that day. It is even bad that street sweepers heap dirt inside it. You won’t even know because it looks filled,” she said.