LAGOS-IBADAN EXPRESSWAY: VANDALS CART AWAY 168 SOLAR STREETLIGHTS
Read Time:2 Minute, 30 Second
By: Fasasi Hammad
At least 168 solar-powered streetlights installed along the Longbridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have been stolen by suspected vandals, findings have revealed.
The streetlights were installed in 2025 along the approximately five-kilometre bridge to improve visibility and enhance the safety of motorists, particularly at night. However, several of the installations reportedly began disappearing only months after they were put in place.
A visit to the bridge on Tuesday showed that several sections had been stripped of their lighting infrastructure. A count from the OPIC end of the bridge towards Wawa indicated that about 168 solar-powered streetlights had been removed.
The suspected vandals appeared to have dismantled the lights systematically, loosening the screws and nuts securing the poles before removing and taking them away. Some sections had missing lights at intervals, while others had been stripped across stretches of up to 300 metres.
The Longbridge carries heavy traffic daily and is a major route connecting Lagos with other parts of the country. It has also been associated with attacks on motorists whose vehicles break down, especially at night.
Motorists and business owners expressed concern that the disappearance of the lights was gradually plunging the area back into darkness and increasing the risks faced by road users.
A motorist identified as Segun said the theft appeared to have been carried out systematically, warning that poor visibility could make motorists more vulnerable to criminal attacks.
A Wawa-based business owner, Dade Aina, also expressed concern over the removal of a streetlight near an underpass, saying the area had remained dark since the light was taken away earlier in the year.
Another business owner, Labake Aliu, suspected that most of the vandalism occurred at night, noting that residents often discovered additional missing lights when they returned the following morning.
Observations also suggested that some of the vandalism may have occurred gradually, as certain poles were found with only one nut remaining out of the two used to secure them.
Motorists called for increased surveillance around the bridge and the immediate replacement of the stolen lights, while urging authorities to intensify efforts to curb vandalism and the activities of scavengers targeting public infrastructure.
The Federal Controller of Works in Ogun State, Richard Adeleye, confirmed the theft and disclosed that some suspected vandals had been arrested and prosecuted.
According to him, the arrests were made before he assumed office as acting controller about a month ago, while the authorities were working on measures to prevent further incidents.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, also confirmed the arrest of suspected vandals operating along the axis, saying they had been charged to court.
He assured that the police remained committed to protecting critical infrastructure and urged residents to report suspicious activities.
The incident comes amid growing concerns over the vandalism of public infrastructure, including a recent case involving the alleged destruction of bridge pillars linking Alakija and FESTAC in Lagos State by suspected scavengers seeking embedded iron rods.
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