Lagos Assembly demands stronger security against infrastructure vandals

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The Lagos State House of Assembly has called for stronger community-level security and tougher prosecution of vandals and their collaborators as it moved to curb the destruction of public infrastructure across the state.

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Speaking during deliberations at the plenary session held on Monday, the lawmakers urged the state government to adequately equip and train the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps and other local security outfits to improve surveillance and help prevent the vandalism of roads, bridges and other public facilities.

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The Assembly also warned that efforts to tackle the problem should not end with the arrest of suspected vandals, insisting that individuals and businesses that buy, sell or profit from stolen government property should also be investigated and prosecuted.

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The demands followed a motion moved by the lawmaker representing Ikorodu II, Moshood Aro, during plenary, after concerns were raised over the vandalism of public infrastructure, particularly in FESTAC.

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Aro said the destruction of facilities provided with taxpayers’ money was imposing a double financial burden on residents, who ultimately had to fund their repair or replacement.

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“It baffles me that some residents of Lagos ought to be experiencing this kind of situation, knowing that we are paying for these facilities with our money,” Aro said.

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He argued that government could not continue to spend public funds on infrastructure only for the same facilities to be destroyed and require additional expenditure for repairs.

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“Public funds are being used to provide these facilities, and when they are damaged or vandalised, public funds are again required to repair them. This places an additional burden on taxpayers,” he said.

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Aro called for closer scrutiny of businesses and individuals purchasing scrap materials from suspected vandals, arguing that the illegal market for stolen public assets must be disrupted if infrastructure vandalism is to be effectively tackled.

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He also urged authorities to ensure that suspects arrested over vandalism were properly prosecuted rather than released without legal consequences.

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According to him, “persons arrested for vandalising public infrastructure should not be released without proper prosecution and, where found guilty, should be sentenced accordingly.”

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The lawmaker said the response to the problem also required stronger coordination among government agencies, security bodies and communities.

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“We, as citizens and representatives of the people, need to take this matter seriously. All the relevant agencies need to sit down, collaborate and respond appropriately to these challenges,” he said.

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The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, supported the call for stronger enforcement, saying the government needed to deal with both the people who vandalise public facilities and those who facilitate the trade in stolen materials.

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Obasa also urged ministries, departments and agencies responsible for enforcing environmental and infrastructure-related laws to ensure that the relevant legislation was properly disseminated and effectively implemented.

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He called for greater support for local security structures, including the Neighbourhood Watch and the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, saying they could play a more effective role in detecting and preventing criminal activities if provided with adequate resources.

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The Assembly’s intervention puts emphasis on prevention as well as prosecution, with lawmakers seeking to strengthen the capacity of community-level security personnel to identify suspicious activities before public facilities are damaged.

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The lawmakers argued that better equipment, training and funding would improve the ability of local security outfits to provide intelligence and surveillance within communities, while the police and other appropriate agencies handle criminal investigations and prosecution.

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Contributing to the debate, Lawal Olumegbon called for closer cooperation between the state government and the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas to address infrastructure vandalism at the community level.

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Similarly, Stephen Ogundipe said the problem was not confined to one constituency, noting that the destruction of public infrastructure was affecting communities across Lagos State.

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The Assembly’s position comes amid concerns over vandalism in FESTAC, where public infrastructure has been targeted, and wider calls for residents to take greater responsibility for facilities in their communities.

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The lawmakers therefore urged the government to combine stronger local surveillance with effective prosecution and sanctions, particularly against the wider network that profits from stolen public infrastructure.

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