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Tag: vandalism

  • Association unveils task force to combat infrastructure vandalism

    Association unveils task force to combat infrastructure vandalism

    The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria (NASWDEN) has unveiled a new task force aimed at combating illegal activities and vandalism of public infrastructure across the country.

    The task force was unveiled in Katsina State and is expected to uphold the integrity of the circular economy by curbing the actions of individuals who sabotage public assets, thereby threatening economic progress.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris said the task force is targeted at strengthening the relationship between citizens and governmental responsibilities.

    He also highlighted the recently launched Renewed Hope Circular Economy Roadmap 2024.

    The minister, who was represented by the Special Assistant on Research and Strategy Saidu Ahmed, emphasised the importance of the National Values Charter which was carefully crafted to redefine the relationship between Nigerians and the country’s responsibility to its people.

    Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas, cited a report showing that Nigeria generates an estimated 32 million tons of solid waste annually.

    He noted that the circular economy sector has spurred a 3.2 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) increase, improved trade balance with a €4.4 billion boost from imports, and created 1.6 million additional jobs compared to a “business-as-usual” approach.

    Chairman of NAK Steel Rolling Mills Company Ltd, Akilu Mohammed, lauded the Katsina State government and President Bola Tinubu’s administration for their progressive policies supporting the circular economy.

    He said the Ministry of Environment was committed to sustaining sectoral growth.

    NASWDEN said it would hold a national stakeholder tour to engage with government ministries, departments, agencies, and international organisations.

    It said the tour is aimed at rallying support for the circular economy sector and would culminate in the first National Circular Economy Workers Summit in early 2025.

    NASWDEN stated that the summit would strengthen collaboration among sector stakeholders, enhance productivity and job creation to support the nation’s economy.

  • 14 suspects arrested for vandalism of transmission line

    14 suspects arrested for vandalism of transmission line

    The Police have arrested 14 suspects for allegedly vandalising 132 KV Transmission Tower Line along the Ahoada-Mbiama  and igbogene axis in Rivers and Bayelsa states.

    The suspects, who have been on the wanted list of the zone for the past few months, were arrested based on intelligence reports in Rivers.

    In a statement,  the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 16 headquarters in Yenagoa, Gunn Emonena said the suspects were arrested following a petition to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 16 headquarters, Yenagoa by the Honourable Commissioner for Power, Kharin Komuko on behalf of the Bayelsa Government.

    Read Also: Police arrest 21-year-old for grave vandalism, theft at Bauchi cemetery

    According to the statement, the suspects, who have been on the wanted list of the zone for the past few months, were arrested based on credible intelligence in Rivers State.

    “In the course of diligent and painstaking investigation, 35mm floor core armoured cable, 70mm floor core armoured cable , 50mm SLPE Cables, electrical pot insulator were recovered from the suspects.

  • Lagos condemns vandalism of public facilities

    Lagos condemns vandalism of public facilities

    Lagos State Commissioner for Housing Moruf Akinderu–Fatai has condemned the vandalism of facilities provided by the state in government housing schemes.

    He described as unacceptable the looting and destruction of cables, generators and electrical panels by suspected vandals and robbers at the Abiodun Ogunleye Housing Estate, Igbogbo.

    The commissioner, who spoke during a visit to ascertain the extent of damage done to the facilities, could not hide his dismay at the level of destruction, said the criminal acts perpetrated by the vandals are a great setback and major distraction to the government’s intervention in housing provision.

    Akinderu-Fatai lamented that the government’s gesture at providing subsidised homes for the low income earners has not been positively reciprocated by the residents.

    He said: “This occurrence at a time like this shows that some citizens do not have a clear understanding of the state’s passion for provision of decent housing for the people. The fund that will be used to replace these items will definitely reduce the number of homes to be provided for others.”

    He said that sanctions will be applied to residents who do not conform to rules and regulations put in place for the sustainability of the state’s housing scheme.

    Interrogating the residents, the commissioner noted that “the security breach is as a result of indifference and apathy on the part of residents, saying the vandals must have taken a long time to unearth the cables, cut and cart them away.”

    On allegations that many of the residents have refused to pay management levies and that they were bringing in tenants, thus threating the security of the Estate, he said:  “Henceforth, anyone that refuse to pay facility maintenance fees or lease his allocation to miscreants will face ejection.”

    The government, he said, will not hesitate to withdraw the slots of allotees who refuse to comply with the rules in contravention of Article 6 of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the State Government.

    He said: “Refusal to pay facility maintenance fee means you are willingly forfeiting the right of ownership.”

    Akinderu-Fatai also frowned at those subletting their apartments, saying the intention of the government was to provide homes for those in need of accommodation and not speculators.

    Read Also: Cement price hike: NIQS throws support for importation

    He warned that those who sublet their units to internet fraudsters, cultists and people of questionable characters will forfeit them if found guilty.

    The Permanent Secretary of ministry, Abdulhafis Toriola, reminded residents that the Facility Management fee remains mandatory for all residents to sustain security personnel, refuse disposal, lighting of streetlights, cleaning and sanitation of jointly owned facilities.

    According to him, the funds are jointly managed by representatives of the residents’ association, ministry and the estate management.

    Toriola said: “Facility management is critical in ensuring that infrastructural facilities provided in the Estates work perfectly and constantly. Hence, the State Government will not compromise the sustainability of its Estate by not sanctioning defaulters.”

  • Checking vandalism

    Checking vandalism

    • Govt must invest in technology as well as punish culprits to preserve public infrastructure 

    Nigeria, like other countries, have systems, structures and facilities that are owned and operated by the government. These are infrastructural facilities that are open to the general public for use. Here, we are talking of road infrastructure, pipelines, rail tracks, cables, hospitals, schools, etc. In many countries, these facilities are seen generally by people as their own and treated as such. Not so in Nigeria where some misguided elements steal various components of the infrastructure, with a view to making money from them. To these people, better known as vandals, these infrastructure belong to no one in particular and so can be vandalised for personal financial gains. They are, unfortunately helped in this regard by the nonchalance of most Nigerians who, even if they see the vandals in action choose to look the other way, either because of fear of being harmed by the thieves, or because they just don’t care.

    Roads, pipelines, rail tracks, cables, etc. top list of vandals’ targets in the country and their replacements cost the government and the tax-payers billions of naira annually. These are monies that should have been spent on other vital societal needs. 

    Conservatively, this routine vandalisation of public infrastructure costs the country a whopping N132 billion annually. This figure that is almost certain would be by far higher is huge, considering the opportunity cost.

    Pipeline vandalism alone, at N60 billion per annum, takes almost half of this amount. The people involved in this nefarious activity are so desperate that they do not seem to reckon with the sometimes life-threatening risks involved. Many of them had paid dearly for their crime as they did not live to tell the story. Yet, involvement in the crime has not abated.

    With regards to roads, aluminium railings are removed by vandals who sell them to buyers that melt them to make several other objects of value.

    Other public facilities are also being stripped of their valuable components. Theft of electricity transformers and cables, removal of rail tracks slippers, even manhole bridge railings and bridge barriers are not spared. 

    As a matter of fact, it is being alleged that some hoodlums deliberately dig portions on some roads where motorists must necessarily slow down, thus creating opportunities for the hoodlums to extort the motorists, and for roadside hawkers to sell in the ensuing traffic. 

    Read Also: Lokpobiri parleys Bayelsa monarchs, seeks end to oil theft, pipeline vandalism

    One thing that is clear from all of these is the lack of patriotism that is necessary to sustain these public infrastructure. That is a reason some experts have canvassed sensitisation on the culture of protecting public assets. Nigerians need to be enlightened that public facilities are for the benefit of the society and should therefore be jealously guarded. The present attitude where such facilities are seen as the jocular mad man’s leg that everyone is at liberty to cut his or her own pound of flesh from must change. People must be made to see the facilities as their own and therefore understand the essence of protecting them.

    Those who choose to continue the illegal acts even after the series of sustained enlightenment can then be dealt with in accordance with the law. Where the penalties need to be made stiffer to serve the deterrence purpose, so be it. 

    But government too must play its part well by doing everything possible to discourage the vandals. For instance, there are technological devices that could be deployed to make pipeline vandalisation unattractive by facilitating early detection and possible arrest of the criminals, either on the way to committing the crime, or in action. Criminals look for something else to do when they know the chances of apprehending them are high.

    Above all, there should be no sacred cows. Anyone caught, no matter how highly placed, must be made to face the music.

  • Host communities decry law making them liable for vandalism

    Host communities decry law making them liable for vandalism

    …say they are not in charge of security

    Oil and Gas Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSTCOM) yesterday decried the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which holds them accountable for any vandalization of oil and gas installation within their domain.

    Section 2 (Subsection 72) of the Act, stipulates that the communities, where oil and gas assets are vandalised or compromised, be held responsible from the 3% they are entitled to.

    But addressing reporters in Abuja at the weekend, the HOSTCOM National President, Highness Benjamin Style Tamaranebi, described the law as obnoxious and unfair for holding the host communities that are not in charge of security accountable for the vandalism of the installations.

    He expressed the HOSTCOM reservations for the section of the law in a press conference tagged:” Re-Host communities kick as proposed PIA review ‘shrinks’ 3% allocation,” in Abuja.

    The National President noted that for the government to hold the communities responsible for the security of the installation, it has to give them the mandate of security over facilities.

    His words: “In section 2 (subsection 72). I see it as very obnoxious because if you ask me to secure this whatever happens I have to pay for it.”

    “Then if I am not securing it, another person is securing it and something is missing here, you don’t have to ask me to pay for it. If I pay that is an unfair law. The law is unfair.”

    “The security job has been sub-rented to other people. The Host Community does not know who and who is securing it.

    “If you want the host community to pay for it, then give the security job to host communities.”

    FLOW BALANCE ONLINE

    Tamaranebi revealed that the HostComply app was created by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

    According to him, the commission is also funding the HostComply that is to checkmate the activities of the settlers and Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDTs) both their annual OPEX.

    He added that it is meant to expose their sharp practices and also everyone could find out what is due for each Development Trust and could calculate at his comfort in any given time without visiting the operators office.

    Read Also: Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa elections: IGP, CDS read riot act to troublemakers

    Asked who is funding the HostComply, the National President said, “It is created by NUPRC. The funding will be done by NUPRC. It is their own.

    These are the ones funding it not from the 3% we are talking about. Communities are not funding it. It is an app created by NUPRC to checkmate the settlers and host communities by 3%.”

    He noted that the host communities are committed to increased oil and gas production, stressing that higher production earns the communities more money.

    Debunking the media publication that  “Host communities kick as proposed PIA review ‘shrinks’ 3% allocation,” he said over the years, International Oil Companies  (I0Cs), and industry players have pumped millions of naira into the HOSTCOM unlike prior to the 2021 PIA.

    According to him, “We could not see any meaningful projects being initiated by these players and kept our communities in this sorry state we have today.”

    Continuing, the National President said, “It is not a hidden fact that our communities producing oil and gas in the country have been suffering devastation, deprivations and desecration of all sorts due to the activities of some critical stakeholders who short-change and create divide-and-rule systems to flourish.

    “The Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) was deliberately created to address the concerns of the host communities and stop the activities of the Shylocks and their collaborators.”

  • Police summon Ekiti monarch over alleged vandalism

    The police have summoned the Alara of Aramoko Ekiti, Oba Olu Adeyemi, to the Force Headquraters in Abuja, over alleged threat to life and vandalisation of property of a contender to the Alara stool in the community, Omo’ba Olusegun Aderemi.

    The invitation followed the monarch’s visit to the police state command headquarters, Ado Ekiti, last weekend over the matter.

    Aderemi had petitioned the police in February, alleging threat to his life and vandalisation of his property including billboards by some individuals in the community.

    He  urged law enforcement agents to investigate the matter and prosecute the culprits.

    Aderemi is locked in a legal battle with the monarch, praying the court to remove Oba Adeyemi and declare him (Aderemi) instead as the Alara of Aramoko.

    Operatives of Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team(IRT) from Abuja,  were said to have discovered Aderemi’s  torn billboard inside Oba Adeyemi’s palace.

    Oba Adeyemi’s invitation was signed by the Principal Staff Officer to the IGP, Usman Umar, and addressed to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), in charge of Intelligence Response Team.

    Police sources disclosed that Oba Adeyemi claimed at the state police command that some people saw the torn billboard and brought it to his palace, thinking that it belonged to the palace.

    His explanation during interrogation prompted his summon to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, on October 8, for further questioning.

    But Oba Adeyemi who earlier in the week said he was in Abuja and that he would be available at Aramoko Ekiti on Wednesday, told journalists on telephone on Thursday that he was out of the country.

    “I don’t want to react to this. I don’t have poster war with anybody. I am a traditional ruler, how do you want me to react to things like these? I am already out of Nigeria”.

    The police spokesman in Ekiti State, Mr Caleb Ikechukwu said he had not been briefed on the matter. He promised to revet to our correspondent later on the matter.

  • FCT: Stemming tide of vandalism

    Sir: Vandalism, pillage and sometimes, plain sabotage of public assets and critical infrastructure, after insurgency and corruption, are the next major issues that pose serious threats to the well-being of Nigerians in general and the FCT in particular. Not only do they constitute a debilitating blight on our national wealth, they are a major setback to national development efforts. FCT residents can tell you this because we feel the sharp edge of this national trauma.

    No sooner had the current FCT Administration headed by Malam Muhammad Musa Bello commenced the completion of ongoing major critical infrastructure projects than it was confronted with the activities of fifth-columnists in the forms of bandits and hoodlums bent on sabotaging the huge investments that the administration was making.

    FCT residents also woke up each day to witness incidents of pillage of major components of public infrastructure such as railway lines and cables, bridge railings manhole covers and communication cables to mention but a few. These vandals dig deep into the ground to unearth armoured cables and sometimes bore holes into water pipelines to irrigate their farms.

    Much as the FCT Administration plodded on and never leaned on these acts of sabotage as an excuse to abdicate its responsibility , there is however the understanding that money that could have been spent on expanding the infrastructure networks and providing new utilities were being sunk into replacing vandalized, damaged and stolen assets or components. Today, the completion of some major arterial roads and bridges, replacement of streetlights and public utilities have imbued fresh air into the city and are bringing about dramatic improvements in the economic and cultural lives of residents. But it could have been a lot better if the administration didn’t have to confront some of these needless setbacks.

    It isn’t all doom and gloom, however, as there are indications that vandals are really having a rollercoaster ride in the FCT, going by some of the commendable measures that have been introduced by the FCTA to preserve and protect critical public infrastructure. Some of these measures include the beefing up of security and surveillance around public infrastructure as well as the vibrant FCT call centre operation which has dedicated lines to special surveillance squads around these facilities. Mention must also be made of the jingles on radio and television stations alerting members of the public to the existence of this group of people and appealing to them to report all suspicious movements around public assets and utilities to the security agencies.

    The FCT Administration also appears to be changing its approach in the installations of public facilities with models that would delay quick theft because the psychology of every thief is to strike quick and escape. So, delaying their capacity to hit and run increases the possibility of their arrests. Of course these measures are beginning to yield fruits as many of the criminals have been arrested through cooperation of vigilant members of the public.

    It is however incumbent on other members of the public to be vigilant because some of these acts of vandalism couldn’t have gone on, sometimes, in broad daylights, if members of the public hadn’t shown such collective unconcern towards public assets and critical infrastructure. We cannot afford to fold our arms and watch these hoodlums continue to reset the clock of our development backward, stall our economic growth and diminish our living standards.

     

    • Danladi Akilu,

    Gudu District, Abuja

  • Two nabbed for alleged stealing, vandalism

    Enugu State Police Command has arrested two suspects for allegedly stealing and vandalising electrical installations in Oji River Local Government.

    Spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement yesterday in Enugu that the suspects were nabbed on May 4 through intelligence information.

    He said bundles of armoured cables were recovered from them by operatives of the Oji River Division.

    Amaraizu said the suspects gave their names as Emmanuel Nwigwe and Okechukwu Onu, who claimed they hailed from Isu community in Ebonyi State.

    “Two notorious suspects, who specialise in electricity cable vandalism, have been nabbed by operatives through intelligence information with quantities of cables suspected to be electrical armoured cables.

    “They were alleged to have taken bundles of the stolen armoured cables to the place where they would be sold.

    “The suspects are regretting their activities, blaming Satan for their action. They pleaded for forgiveness,’’ the spokesman said.

    He said investigation had begun, adding that the suspects were assisting operatives.

     

  • Half a million bees die in Iowa vandalism, two boys charged

    Justin and Tori Engelhardt, husband and wife beekeepers in Sioux City, Iowa, discovered a tragic surprise when they went to check on their 50 beehives.

    The hives — home to half a million bees — had been overturned and hacked apart. The couple’s supply shed had been ransacked.

    The result was 500,000 dead bees and an estimated $60,000 in damaged property — a major setback for the Engelhardts and their 6-year-old honey business.

    “They knocked over every single hive, killing all the bees. They wiped us out completely,” Justin Engelhardt told The Sioux City Journal after the Dec. 27 vandalism. “They broke into our shed, they took all our equipment out and threw it out in the snow, smashed what they could.”

    Nearly three weeks later, the Sioux City Police Department arrested two boys in connection with the vandalism.

    The charges include three felonies — criminal mischief, offenses to an agricultural animal facility, and burglary — and one aggravated misdemeanor for possession of burglary tools, according to the Sioux City police.

    The names of boys, ages 12 and 13, are being withheld, since they’re juveniles.

    As the cases involve minors, they’re likely to be adjudicated in juvenile court — sparing the boys up to 10 years in prison and fines as much as $10,000, if they are convicted.

    “It’s huge, right? It demonstrates the professionalism and determination of the Sioux City Police Department and we couldn’t be happier,” Justin told The Sioux City Journal after news of the arrests.

    After the vandalism, Todd LaCroix of Sioux City launched a GoFundMe page to recoup some of the money that the Engelhardts had lost. The fundraising effort brought in over $30,000 within a matter of days. “Between the contributions and the equipment we were able to salvage, our needs have been met,” Justin wrote, adding that their Wild Hill Honey business would continue in the spring.

    Justin Engelhardt started beekeeping six years ago, after hearing an interview on public radio with famed apiologist Thomas Seeley, author of The Wisdom of the Hive.

    “The more I studied about the bees, the more I was fascinated by their behavior,” Engelhardt said in an interview with Siouxland Public Media three years ago. “They communicate with each other by dance. If a forager leaves the hive and finds a very good nectar source, she’ll return to the nectar source and dance on the face of the comb inside the hive to let her sisters know the direction and distance of the nectar source.”

    “They’re fascinating. I could just lay and watch them for hours,” he said.

    Source: www.nbcnews.com

  • Akiolu condemns power equipment vandalism, theft

    The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu has condemned vandalism and theft of power equipment by those he described as criminal elements within the society.

    Speaking during a visit to his palace by the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, led by the company’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Adeoye Fadeyibi, Oba Akiolu said perpetrators of vandalism and theft of power equipment are enemies of the society and all well-meaning people should join hands to stop them.

    According to the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Godwin Idemudia, the Lagos monarch said since improvement in power supply would trigger socio-economic development and create jobs for more people, protection of power equipment should be the concern of all lovers of development.

    The monarch also said he has been doing his best to enlighten his subjects that the Distribution companies have been privatised and as such people should be ready to pay for the power they have consumed.

    He, however, advised Eko Electricity Distribution Company to look within and fish out bad eggs in its fold who, he said, are in the habit of colluding with people to engage in illegal connection and other vices against the company.

    Oba Akiolu also proposed the establishment of a special task force comprising employees of the company with high integrity and security men to monitor power supply situation as well as activities of some workers and members of the public to forestall vandalism, energy theft and other sharp practices.

    He said whenever such a team is constituted, he will be ready to mobilise all the quarter chiefs and Lagos Island residents to cooperate and work with the task force.