Bridge railing robbers

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Barely eight hours after parading a vandal for stealing bridge reinforcement and railings on Ijora Bridge, the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of the Lagos State Police Command have again arrested two men for stealing railings of the First Mainland Bridge.

The men, Godwin Nwankwo, 23 and John Omeoha, 23 were arrested by the operatives when they were caught bringing out from a manhole 17 bars of reinforcement meant to firm up the bridge.

The lead suspect, Nwankwo, stated that he stole the railings because he was desperately hungry and that there was no alternative means for him to get money.

He noted that he has passed through the hole several times and that he was curious to find out what was there. He pointed out that, last year, he entered the manhole twice to steal railings.

Nwankwo added that this year, “I have entered the hole four times. From the money I made from those sales, I have saved N5, 000 in my bank account to assist me to travel out of Lagos.

“Yesterday, I went there again. I invited my friend, John Omeoha. We stole 17 bars which we planned to sell to scavengers in order to raise funds. Unfortunately, just as we were bringing out the metal from the manhole, RRS operatives sighted us and arrested us.

“My plan was to raise money to enable me relocate back to Enugu, where I repair handsets before coming to Lagos. I want to leave Lagos because my life has been meaningless here”, he stated. I broke my waist while working with a gas pipeline laying company in Lagos. This is where my problem started. I spent two months in hospital.

“When I was discharged, I was advised not to do hard work. So, the easy way out for me is to scavenge for a living. That is why I need to move out of Lagos. I was invited to come down to Lagos from Enugu last year by a friend. On getting to Mazamaza, pickpockets stole my phones and money. Since then, I have not been able to locate my friend. I live in parks and shanties in order to survive,” he said.