Lagos goes tough on vandals, to prosecute driver for damaging bridge

Lagos goes tough on vandals, to prosecute driver for damaging bridge

The Lagos State Government has said it will not tolerate any act of vandalism in the state, just as it has decided to file criminal charges against the driver or owner of a truck that rammed into and damaged a pedestrian bridge in the Alapere area of the state.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed this on Monday.

Omotoso said it was criminal and unfair for people to vandalise public property put in place by the government for the benefit of all.

The commissioner said, “First, to destroy government infrastructure is criminal; it’s inhumane and it’s unfair. Anytime we go to inaugurate a project, we tell the people to own the project; we advise them to prevent vandals from destroying such a project.

“So, this particular bridge that you are talking about has served Lagos for several years and it has been able to reduce the accidents that used to occur around that place and the loss of human lives that we used to have there.

“For a vehicle to see the bridge and not respect the height and just bash into it like that, destroying it and making it unusable for human beings, I think it’s a crime against all of us.

“The government is not going to take it easy; it is going to file criminal charges against the owners of the vehicle.”

He stressed that the state would not allow the case to slide.

“They can’t be allowed to just get away with it. The destruction of public property anywhere in the world is very wrong; ours will not be different,” he said.