168 solar streetlights stolen from Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

No fewer than 168 solar-powered streetlights installed along the Longbridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have been stolen by suspected vandals, raising concerns over the safety of motorists using the busy route at night.

The streetlights were installed in 2025 along the approximately five-kilometre bridge to illuminate the road and improve visibility for motorists.

However, findings show that the infrastructure began disappearing only months after installation, with several sections now left without lighting.

A visit to the bridge on Tuesday showed that numerous streetlight points had been stripped of their poles and solar lighting components. A count from the OPIC end towards Wawa indicated that about 168 lights had been removed.

The suspected vandals appeared to have dismantled the installations systematically, loosening the nuts and screws securing the poles before removing them.

In some sections, streetlights were missing at intervals, while stretches of up to 300 metres had been stripped of the infrastructure. Some locations also showed signs of forceful removal.

The Longbridge carries heavy traffic daily and serves as a major link between Lagos and other parts of the country. It has also been associated with attacks on motorists whose vehicles break down, particularly at night.

Motorists and business owners said the disappearance of the lights was gradually returning the bridge to darkness and increasing the vulnerability of road users.

A motorist, Segun, described the theft as systematic, saying the removal of the lights would make it difficult for drivers to identify obstacles and suspicious persons along the bridge at night.

He urged the authorities to urgently restore the lighting and strengthen security around the area.

A business owner at Wawa, Dade Aina, said a streetlight near an underpass connecting both sides of the area had also been removed, leaving the location dark.

She expressed concern that motorists whose vehicles break down at night could become easy targets for criminals.

Another business owner, Labake Aliu, suspected that most of the vandalism was carried out at night, noting that traders often only discovered new cases of removal the following morning.

Observations also suggested that some streetlights may have been dismantled gradually. At some points, one of the two nuts used to secure the poles remained, indicating that vandals may have loosened the installations before returning to remove them completely.

Motorists said the continued theft was concerning despite the presence of security personnel around parts of the bridge.

They called for increased surveillance, prompt replacement of the stolen lights and stronger measures against scavengers and other vandals targeting public infrastructure.

The Federal Controller of Works in Ogun State, Richard Adeleye, confirmed the theft and said some suspects had been arrested and prosecuted.

“We have arrested the vandals and charged them to court. The police can confirm this,” Adeleye said, adding that the arrests occurred before he assumed office as acting controller about a month ago.

He said the ministry was also developing measures to prevent further theft.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, also confirmed the arrest of suspected vandals operating along the axis.

Babaseyi said the suspects were arrested while allegedly vandalising critical infrastructure and had been charged to court.

He assured that the police remained committed to protecting public infrastructure and urged residents to report suspicious activities.

“We have arrested suspected vandals in the act within that axis and charged them to court to face the full weight of the law,” he said.

The incident comes amid growing concerns over vandalism of public infrastructure in the Lagos-Ogun corridor.

Recently, unidentified scavengers allegedly vandalised the concrete pillars supporting the Alakija-FESTAC bridge in Lagos by breaking into the structures to remove embedded iron rods.

The spokesperson for the State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Babatunde Akinbiyi, described infrastructure vandalism as a recurring problem and called for greater public awareness and enforcement.

He said those caught vandalising public infrastructure would be made to face the law, warning that individual greed should not be allowed to endanger the lives and safety of other road users.

(Punch)