ANAMBRA State Police Command has begun a 24-hour surveillance on the 2nd Niger Bridge over issues of vandalism recorded recently.
Commissioner of Police (CP) in the state Aderemi Adeoye disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, August 6.
“We have commenced round-the-clock intensive surveillance on the second Niger bridge, which is a national asset. We are working in collaboration with Delta State Command, which also shares the asset, to achieve comprehensive coverage.
“We are happy that the vandalised parts have been replaced with more fortification, but we want to warn anybody who would wish to attempt another attack on the facility to desist because such a person will be caught. Our surveillance is 24 hours and it will be more intense at night,” the CP said.
Adeoye also mentioned that the monitoring would be carried out by mobile and static surveillance teams.
Construction of the Second Niger Bridge connecting Delta and Anambra states began in 2018.
The 1.6 kilometres bridge was briefly open to vehicular movement on December 15, 2022, to ease traffic during the period, and was commissioned in May 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari before he left office.
However, shortly after it was commissioned, some road fittings were removed and carted away by vandals.
Following the vandalisation, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Mahmuda Mamman urged security agencies to intensify surveillance on the bridge, as it could be rendered unmotorable if the thefts were left unchecked.
“This is a massive investment put up by the Federal Government to ease movement of goods and services in Nigeria. To me, free movement is a basic human right, and all of us must take collective responsibility to safeguard it.” Mamman said.
Though the fittings have been replaced, there are yet to be any arrests in connection to the thefts. However, Adeoye said on Sunday, August 6, that investigations were ongoing to uncover the identity of those involved in the vandalism.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.