In these strange times, the story of the Nigerian State is daily written in the crime pages of our newspapers and broadcasts. One set of stories that is emerging repeatedly is the dismantling and theft of the country’s infrastructure. This week, it was reported that thieves have removed and stolen the recently installed airfield ground lighting systems at the domestic runway (18L/36R) of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. The runway lights are critical because they help pilots to do landing and take-off safely at night, or in low visibility conditions. As these are highly specialized lights with specific use on runways, the thieves must have access to security zones and band have knowledge of where they can sell them. It was only in November 2022 that the runway was reopened for 24 hours flight services after the successful installation of the ground lights.
Last week, some of the road fittings installed on the newly inaugurated Second Niger bridge were vandalized by robbers. Specifically, the metal expansion joints are removed and sold as scrap metals by the robbers. This problem has been on-going in Lagos for years where similar joints and metal reinforcement for bridge safety are regularly removed and sold compromising the integrity and safety of the bridges. Railings and crash barriers from manholes meant to reinforce bridges from vibrating, as well as protect vehicles from falling from the bridge are also removed and sold.
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