40 Youths Trained to Guard Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Against Vandals

(Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Photo Credit: News Express)

The Federal Ministry of Works has trained 40 youths from host communities to patrol the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the aim of safeguarding the multi-billion Naira project from vandalism and other criminal acts.

The youths, trained by the Nigeria Police Force in Lagos on Tuesday, will operate in shifts 20 on daytime duty and 20 on night patrol.

Speaking during the training exercise, Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olufemi Dare, disclosed that the Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, ordered the initiative in response to growing incidents of vandalism and misuse along the highway.

According to Dare, the guards would assist police operations by keeping watch over the corridor and reporting offenders, clarifying that they are not police officers and would only hand over suspects for prosecution.

He revealed that the government has continued to record persistent theft of essential infrastructure along the highway, including clear-view steel fences, manhole covers, and directional signs.

He noted that about one kilometre of steel fencing had been stolen, while manhole covers had been repeatedly removed along an 18-kilometre stretch of the road, despite replacements by contractors.

“We must not allow this huge investment by the Federal Government to be destroyed by criminals.

The President and the Minister of Works are committed to protecting this project, which is why these 40 youths have been engaged to support the police,” he said.

Dare cautioned that scavengers posing as scrap metal collectors, illegal dumpers, motorcycle and tricycle operators, stationary trucks, and stray livestock would no longer be permitted on the superhighway.

He added that the ministry had acquired 20 new motorcycles branded “Coastal Road Guards” to support the patrol teams, noting that the guards’ conduct would be closely supervised, with anyone found engaging in misconduct or criminal activity facing prosecution.

The controller further stated that the ministry was working with the Lagos State Government and other relevant agencies to address indiscriminate refuse dumping along the corridor, warning that offenders would face the full consequences of the law.

Also speaking, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Zone 2, Lagos, Hakeem Ajasa, charged the newly trained recruits to discharge their duties with discipline, professionalism, and integrity.

He warned against extortion, abuse of office, and jungle justice, emphasising that suspects must always be handed over to the police.

“You are not there to collect money from anybody. If anyone is found extorting road users or abusing the assignment, the police will not spare such a person,” he said.

Ajasa urged the recruits to focus on intelligence gathering, document offences using cameras or mobile phones where necessary, and operate strictly within their assigned communities, warning that anyone caught vandalising infrastructure or committing similar offences would be prosecuted.

In a similar vein, the Assistant Commissioner of Police and Area Commander, Area A, Lion Building, Godwin Idehai, described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a national asset that deserves the highest level of protection.

He encouraged the recruits to embrace community policing by collaborating with residents to identify and apprehend those attempting to vandalise public infrastructure, urging them to remain patriotic, diligent, and dedicated to the task.

The Community Relations Manager of HITEC Construction Company, Mr David Omaghomi, said the initiative was in line with the contractor’s community engagement strategy geared toward ensuring sustainable infrastructure delivery.

He explained that the security arrangement was designed to enhance intelligence gathering and surveillance rather than establish an armed enforcement outfit.

“Our responsibility is to provide information, monitor activities and quickly alert the police whenever vandalism occurs. We are the eyes and ears of the security architecture because we are closest to the communities,” he said.

Omaghomi noted that investigations had revealed that most vandalism was carried out by outsiders rather than members of the host communities, and he urged residents to protect their community’s reputation by exposing those responsible.

He added that any community representative found wanting in the course of the assignment could be replaced.

Speaking on behalf of the recruits, the Assistant Team Lead of the Coastal Highway Security Guards, Mr Kelvin Okereke, commended President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Works for the initiative, assuring Nigerians that the security guards would protect the highway and its infrastructure from vandalism.

He pledged that the team would remain committed to safeguarding manholes, fencing, road furniture, and other public assets along the corridor.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway remains one of the Federal Government’s flagship road infrastructure projects, aimed at boosting connectivity, trade, and economic development across Nigeria’s coastal states.