SECURITY agencies have arrested suspected vandals responsible for the stealing of Abuja highway sewage manhole covers.
This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday, January 5, signed by the senior special assistant on public communications and New Media to the FCT minister, Lere Olayinka.
According to Olayinka, some of the suspected criminals are behind the removal of sewage manhole covers on highways in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He said efforts were also being made to apprehend their collaborators, especially buyers of the manhole covers.
Olayinka added that as directed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, relevant stakeholders were already working hard to stop the act.
“The minister, who lamented that Nigerians could go to the devilish extent of removing sewage manhole covers on highways and selling them, thereby putting the lives of road users at risk, vowed that the government would do everything necessary to bring the perpetrators to book.
“Wike said it was sad that the government would use public funds to put amenities in place for the use of Nigerians, and criminally minded citizens would remove the amenities and sell them to (fellow) Nigerians,” Olayinka said.
The ICIR reports that manhole cover theft has been rampant in Abuja.
When removed, the holes left open often result in vehicles driving over them skidding off the highway and involving in accidents.
In 2017, a senior advocate, Femi Falana, was one of the victims in Abuja. He sued the Federal Capital Development Authority for N100 million because of injuries and other harms the accident caused him.
Manholes and gully pots are supposed to be an advantage to urban cities like the FCT, but they often constitute a danger to motorists.
In 2022, The ICIR, in an investigation, exposed how Abuja became the city with uncovered manholes.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance