Manhole Covers On Abuja Roads

Nigerians have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express concern after a video showing suspected scavengers allegedly removing metal manhole covers from an Abuja road surfaced online.

The footage, shared by P Olabanji (@patola58), showed several uncovered manholes along an expressway, raising concerns over the danger the open pits could pose to motorists, particularly at night or during poor visibility.

The development triggered reactions from X users, with many calling for authorities to go beyond arresting the scavengers and also investigate those who buy stolen government infrastructure.

Surveyor Alli M. Erinjegunola Dam… (@surv3secondZ) argued that the government should focus on the buyers, saying the demand for stolen materials encourages the vandalism.

“I’ve got no problem with those removing but the people they’re selling it to. The government needs to go after the buyers.

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“If the buyers cease to exist the sellers will stop vandalising properties. Those buying are the ones that needs to be destroyed!”

Also reacting @CRawkeen called for certain forms of scavenging to be phased out, arguing that alternative means of livelihood should be provided where such activities endanger lives and destroy infrastructure.

“I don’t know what lawmakers are doing, there are some hustles that we should use the law to phase out. All those Omolanke and Bola jobs should be stopped.

“There has to be more reasonable ways to go about jobs like that not all these ones that destroy infrastructure and put lives at risk in the name of kobo kobo.”

@Tameziokwu blamed poor security measures for allowing the vandalism to continue, calling for better lighting and increased surveillance across major cities.

“This is why every area of a mega city needs to be lighted. Thieves hardly operate where there is light.

“Our security forces also need to be directed to focus on these iron condemn people, they are doing these because they were not checked when they started destroying people’s property.

“Now they have escalated to damaging government properties and the government aren’t doing anything about it.”

Meanwhile, @TalkingGenius linked the development to broader economic and governance challenges, arguing that improved electricity supply and CCTV surveillance could help curb such activities.

“Tell me what you were expecting exactly? Ordinary stable power supply and CCTV would have caught these bastards, but you prefer white elephant projects where you’ll steal billions.

“And then there’s the widespread hunger all of you are trying to deny. It is time to rethink.”

@Eehwhy123 said the country still had significant work to do in protecting public infrastructure from theft and vandalism.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this country, because there’s no way the developments we want will come now and we won’t have people who will not steal it for the little naira they want to make.”

Another user @D_CEO_ urged the police to go after those purchasing the stolen materials rather than focusing only on the people removing them.

“Look for the buyers and send them to jail.”
He also tagged the Nigeria Police Force (@PoliceNG) in his post.

The exposed manholes have raised concerns about road safety, as motorists could potentially drive into the openings, particularly when visibility is poor.

The incident has consequently renewed calls for stronger measures against the theft and resale of public infrastructure.