The theft of manhole caps and utility cables of telecom firms in most parts of the country is very worrisome. These heists speak to the bothersome security vulnerabilities, even in unpredictable places. The practice is particularly rampant in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Abuja.
The heavy iron covers designed to protect underground utilities are disappearing at an alarming rate. The pervasiveness of this irksome trend in Abuja is ironic in view of the heavy security rings and cordons that dot strategic corners within the federal seat of power.
Equally shocking is the penetration of the National Assembly by the egregious elements who have turned this atrocious practice into a near-vocation. The federal legislative haven is expected to be one of the most secure precincts in the country.
The National Assembly is guarded by multiple security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, the State Security Services (SSS), and the Sergeant-at-Arms, a parliamentary security unit.
The personnel of these security outfits are stationed at strategic locations across the premises. The Nigerian parliament is the heart of the country’s democracy. Its security vulnerabilities are, therefore, befuddling.
If a crime like a manhole cover theft can be carried out repeatedly in the heart of Nigeria’s highest legislative institution, it raises concerns about the country’s overall security framework.
Maintainance workers at the National Assembly have also been said to have reported numerous thefts of valuable office items, including television sets, air conditioners, electrical cables, and wires.
“I cannot count the number of theft cases we have seen so far; they are too numerous. As people who work in the maintenance department, we are always privileged to know about all these thefts, and some of the cases we have heard involved the theft of televisions, air conditioners, cables, and wires,” one of the workers was reported to have recently squealed to the authorities.
The theft of manhole covers is said to be driven by the high value of the scraps. They are often stolen at night and sold to scrap metal dealers, especially when metal prices surge.
The consequences of this heinous practice can be terrible. It poses significant threats to public safety and infrastructure. Open manholes have turned highways and pedestrian walkways into deadly traps, which endanger the lives of motorists and passers-by. And the theft of utility cables causes outages and disrupts essential telephone and internet services.
It is thus a growing concern that the relevant authorities must not handle with kid gloves. It must be addressed frontally. Of course, the government has made some impressive moves. The authorities have, for example, implemented measures like shutting down scrap yards, launching special task forces, and increasing patrols.
Security operatives of the FCT have carried out series of coordinated raids across major scrap yards and illegal markets in Abuja especially. The operatives, who are members of a task force set up to curb the destruction of public assets in the FCT, made a big haul from some of the raids recently.
They arrested 31 suspects involved in the vandalism and theft of public infrastructure worth over ₦1 billion. About 115 manhole caps, transformer components and others worth N1 billion were also recovered from the suspects.
One of the discoveries made from some of the raids is that the thefts are no isolated cases but part of a broader network of criminal syndicates because firearms and illicit substances were uncovered from some of the suspects.
According to the FCT Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu, the FCT administration “ordered a two-week shutdown of all scrap yards, commonly known as ‘Pantaker’ markets, to dismantle the trade in stolen public infrastructure.”
He added that “the joint task force, consisting of the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army, Civil Defence, DSS, Immigration, FRSC, NDLEA, and other agencies, launched raids across multiple locations, including Dei-Dei, Nyanya, Zuba, Mpape, Kabusa, Jabi, and Gwarinpa.
“The raids led to the recovery of large quantities of stolen public assets, including 115 manhole covers and drainage covers, industrial solar batteries, solar panels, and fibre optic cables, transformer components and armoured cables.
“Others are 75 bags of cement, security doors, and electric changeovers, vehicle chassis number templates and fake Mercedes-Benz chassis numbers; motorcycles, water pumping machines, and power generators.
“Officials of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed that many of the recovered electrical components were stolen from power stations, leading to blackouts in areas like Dawaki, Mpape, Janus’s, Jabi and Gwarinpa”.
The Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML) was also said to have ordered the profiling and registration of all scrap dealers in February, this year, at Wuse Zone 6. Scavengers, locally known as Baban Bola, have equally been banned and remained strictly banned in the FCT.
Residents are urged to henceforth report any suspicious activities or attempts to steal public property to the police or the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. The authorities are exploring alternatives like composite materials to make manhole covers less appealing to thieves.
These are certainly commendable steps towards arresting the menace. But more needs to be done. The daredevils must be decimated and put out of work.
Even though the menace is more rampant in Abuja, it is a national problem. The frequent electricity system collapses and telecommunication network failures, disrupting mobile telephone and internet services that are often being experienced are partly attributed to the consistent pilfering or vandalisation of telecom cables, transmission tower parts and other sensitive accessories.
Therefore, the relevant authorities must intensify efforts towards putting paid to the bile of a menace. Part of the lacuna in the operation of many of our agencies is the paucity of and ineffective intelligence and the needless inter-agency rivalries that often hamper synergies among them.
Intelligence is intrinsic to busting crimes because it has the tendency to stymie them at the planning stage. Criminals are no ghosts. They live among the people. But the blight is the trust deficit. The locals who know where the villains are hiding do not trust our security agents sufficiently enough to ferret them out.
Let the security agencies work on this by creating better sense of camaraderie with the people. Let them earn their trust. The task to decimate the daredevils will be a doddle that way.
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