Scavengers strip Lagos bridges, homes in widespread theft

For years, the theft of manhole covers, bridge railings, streetlight cables and other metal infrastructure has been a familiar form of vandalism in Lagos. Today, however, the scrap-metal trade appears to be taking a more dangerous turn.

Findings showed that the scavengers are no longer merely removing exposed metal. They are now digging into concrete structures, cutting through reinforcement rods embedded in the pillars and foundations of bridges and buildings.

More troubling is the discovery that some homeowners live in their houses unaware that scavengers have been hacking into foundation reinforcements and supporting pillars to steal rods, potentially weakening the structures and creating the risk of disaster.

As society, government and homeowners count their losses, the scavengers smile to the bank.

Structural engineers, however, have warned of the dangers posed by the expanding scrap-metal trade, noting that weak security systems and poor enforcement are among the challenges Nigeria must confront if lives, property and the environment are to be protected.

FESTAC Town, in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, and its environs have become a theatre of theft of public and private infrastructure, according to Pastor Peter Asuquo, whose church on First Avenue has come under serious attack by scavengers.

According to him, the building had developed a partial crack, which the church promptly repaired without realising that scavengers were responsible for the damage to its structural integrity.

The pastor told our correspondent that the church building sits on the waterfront, with deep concrete reinforcement close to the Kirikiri Canal. Because the rear of the building is largely inaccessible and rarely visited, the vandals were able to operate undetected.

“The vandals cut into and removed the iron rods from the supporting pillars and decking at the rear of the building without anyone noticing,” Asuquo said.

At first, he noted, part of the structure collapsed, prompting the church to recast the affected section from the inside. They did not realise that the underlying problem was the removal of reinforcement rods at the back of the building until recently.

“After thieves burgled our church and made away with equipment worth over N6m, the pastor-in-charge told me and another member of the church to cut down the coconut tree behind the building to ensure that no thief gained access to the church through the tree. This was because the tree was close to the building and its leaves were touching the windows.

After targeting manhole covers and other public infrastructure, scrap-metal scavengers are now going after reinforcement rods embedded in bridges, structural steel in residential buildings and electrical wiring, raising concerns about public safety and the growing black market for scrap metal.

While investigating the activities of these criminal elements, Sunday PUNCH located Lagos bridges, as well as unoccupied and occupied buildings, where scavengers, armed with hammers, chisels and cutting tools, dig into concrete to extract steel reinforcement rods and electrical wiring, while stripping roofing sheets for quick cash.

Findings showed that the scavengers are no longer merely removing exposed metal. They are now digging into concrete structures, cutting through reinforcement rods embedded in the pillars and foundations of bridges and buildings.

Findings showed that the scavengers are no longer merely removing exposed metal. They are now digging into concrete structures, cutting through reinforcement rods embedded in the pillars and foundations of bridges and buildings.

More troubling is the discovery that some homeowners live in their houses unaware that scavengers have been hacking into foundation reinforcements and supporting pillars to steal rods, potentially weakening the structures and creating the risk of disaster.

As society, government and homeowners count their losses, the scavengers smile to the bank.

Structural engineers, however, have warned of the dangers posed by the expanding scrap-metal trade, noting that weak security systems and poor enforcement are among the challenges Nigeria must confront if lives, property and the environment are to be protected.

FESTAC Town, in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, and its environs have become a theatre of theft of public and private infrastructure, according to Pastor Peter Asuquo, whose church on First Avenue has come under serious attack by scavengers.

According to him, the building had developed a partial crack, which the church promptly repaired without realising that scavengers were responsible for the damage to its structural integrity.

The pastor told our correspondent that the church building sits on the waterfront, with deep concrete reinforcement close to the Kirikiri Canal. Because the rear of the building is largely inaccessible and rarely visited, the vandals were able to operate undetected.

“The vandals cut into and removed the iron rods from the supporting pillars and decking at the rear of the building without anyone noticing,” Asuquo said.

At first, he noted, part of the structure collapsed, prompting the church to recast the affected section from the inside. They did not realise that the underlying problem was the removal of reinforcement rods at the back of the building until recently.

“After thieves burgled our church and made away with equipment worth over N6m, the pastor-in-charge told me and another member of the church to cut down the coconut tree behind the building to ensure that no thief gained access to the church through the tree. This was because the tree was close to the building and its leaves were touching the windows.

“It was when we entered there that we discovered that all the reinforcement rods had been stolen. I mean all of them that could be seen. The vandals even cut into the decking, the concrete reinforcement slab, and removed the rods inside it.

“These people are wicked because they do not care if the building collapses and kills people. I wonder how much they are making from this that they are willing to risk people’s lives like this. Yet, when you catch them, they will start begging for mercy,” the pastor said.

Angered and pained by the extent of the damage done to the building without regard for the safety of those who use it, Asuquo told our correspondent that, if he were the government, he would order security operatives to shoot on sight anyone caught cutting iron rods, electrical wires and roofing sheets or stealing manhole covers in the country because such acts amounted to economic sabotage.

“To understand how wicked these people are, when they steal the manhole covers and you get a welder to cover the manhole with rods to prevent children from falling into the hole or to prevent accidents, they will still return to cut the rods and take them away.

“These people do not deserve to live in a human environment; they are too backward. How much are they going to sell those rods? Go to Alakija-Festac Link Bridge and see how they are cutting into pillars to extract rods that they are going to sell for a peanut,” he added, visibly pained.

However, when Sunday PUNCH visited the building, it discovered that all the visible rods from the decking and foundational reinforcement had been removed. Not even one was left standing, as shown in photographs taken at the scene.

Also, on the same axis, a building once used by Standard Chartered Bank appeared to have suffered extensive vandalism.

More troubling is the discovery that some homeowners live in their houses unaware that scavengers have been hacking into foundation reinforcements and supporting pillars to steal rods, potentially weakening the structures and creating the risk of disaster.

As society, government and homeowners count their losses, the scavengers smile to the bank.

Findings showed that the scavengers are no longer merely removing exposed metal. They are now digging into concrete structures, cutting through reinforcement rods embedded in the pillars and foundations of bridges and buildings.

More troubling is the discovery that some homeowners live in their houses unaware that scavengers have been hacking into foundation reinforcements and supporting pillars to steal rods, potentially weakening the structures and creating the risk of disaster.

As society, government and homeowners count their losses, the scavengers smile to the bank.

Structural engineers, however, have warned of the dangers posed by the expanding scrap-metal trade, noting that weak security systems and poor enforcement are among the challenges Nigeria must confront if lives, property and the environment are to be protected.

FESTAC Town, in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, and its environs have become a theatre of theft of public and private infrastructure, according to Pastor Peter Asuquo, whose church on First Avenue has come under serious attack by scavengers.

According to him, the building had developed a partial crack, which the church promptly repaired without realising that scavengers were responsible for the damage to its structural integrity.

The pastor told our correspondent that the church building sits on the waterfront, with deep concrete reinforcement close to the Kirikiri Canal. Because the rear of the building is largely inaccessible and rarely visited, the vandals were able to operate undetected.

“The vandals cut into and removed the iron rods from the supporting pillars and decking at the rear of the building without anyone noticing,” Asuquo said.

At first, he noted, part of the structure collapsed, prompting the church to recast the affected section from the inside. They did not realise that the underlying problem was the removal of reinforcement rods at the back of the building until recently.

“After thieves burgled our church and made away with equipment worth over N6m, the pastor-in-charge told me and another member of the church to cut down the coconut tree behind the building to ensure that no thief gained access to the church through the tree. This was because the tree was close to the building and its leaves were touching the windows.

“It was when we entered there that we discovered that all the reinforcement rods had been stolen. I mean all of them that could be seen. The vandals even cut into the decking, the concrete reinforcement slab, and removed the rods inside it.

“These people are wicked because they do not care if the building collapses and kills people. I wonder how much they are making from this that they are willing to risk people’s lives like this. Yet, when you catch them, they will start begging for mercy,” the pastor said.

Angered and pained by the extent of the damage done to the building without regard for the safety of those who use it, Asuquo told our correspondent that, if he were the government, he would order security operatives to shoot on sight anyone caught cutting iron rods, electrical wires and roofing sheets or stealing manhole covers in the country because such acts amounted to economic sabotage.

“To understand how wicked these people are, when they steal the manhole covers and you get a welder to cover the manhole with rods to prevent children from falling into the hole or to prevent accidents, they will still return to cut the rods and take them away.

“These people do not deserve to live in a human environment; they are too backward. How much are they going to sell those rods? Go to Alakija-Festac Link Bridge and see how they are cutting into pillars to extract rods that they are going to sell for a peanut,” he added, visibly pained.

However, when Sunday PUNCH visited the building, it discovered that all the visible rods from the decking and foundational reinforcement had been removed. Not even one was left standing, as shown in photographs taken at the scene.

Also, on the same axis, a building once used by Standard Chartered Bank appeared to have suffered extensive vandalism.

Our correspondent observed that vandals had hacked into the walls and extracted the surface electrical wiring. They broke the conduit pipes and also pulled out the wires embedded in them.

Photographs taken at the building showed that both the ceiling and roofing sheets were also under attack.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that after extracting the electrical wiring, the scavengers descended on the aluminium roofing sheets. Our correspondent observed that the building was now little more than a skeleton and would require major work before it could be put to use again. The entire building would need to be rewired before it could become functional.

Our correspondent also discovered that the iron doors and aluminium windows that once made the building the envy of other banks in the area were long gone.

A 37-year-old occupant of the building, Malaki Musa, who lives there with more than 11 others, told Sunday PUNCH that the scavengers gained access through the rear fence.

“We weren’t around when they entered and removed all the wires in the building. But they broke a portion of the fence and entered through the back. We are staying in it now, and nobody comes in again to steal anything,” he told our correspondent.

However, findings revealed that there was little left in the building to steal, except the roofing sheets and perhaps the roofing wood.