*Abuja highway.
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
15 November 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Vandals have carted away various sizes of electric armoured cables for the stretch of over 1.7 kilometres worth several millions of Naira along the popular Murtala Muhammed Expressway (Kubwa Road).
The cables carted away were 99mm and 25mm for a stretch of 1.2 kilometres between Zuba Interchange and the ArmyCheckpointt at Dei-Dei, as well as 99mm and 25mm between Muhammad Abubakar Police Barrack, Jibi and Police Check Point before the Railway Overhead Bridge.
Inspecting the sites of the vandalization on Monday, the FCT Minster, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello reiterated the resolve of the FCT Administration to take very stern measures against people found engaging in vandalization of power cables within the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister, who spoke against the backdrop of the vandalization of these armoured cables, warned that the FCT Administration would no longer tolerate this wanton destruction of public infrastructure and utilities.
Mallam Bello, who was represented at the inspection of the sites of the vandalized cables by the Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Umar Gambo Jibrin, was visibly shocked at the level of destruction and removal of several millions of Naira worth of cables by vandals which has thrown those portions of the Expressway into total darkness.
The Minister described the action of the vandals as highly deplorable and an act of sabotage that is capable of slowing down the development of the Capital Territory.
He however called on the residents of the Federal Capital Territory to continue to support the FCT Administration by exposing all criminal elements within their immediate neighbourhoods as well as report any suspicious movement of persons around public utilities to the security agencies.
The Minister thus, directed the security agents to take the surveillance of public facilities more seriously particularly the electrical installations.
With this vandalization, over six kilometers on that Expressway has been thrown into darkness.
Meanwhile, the Director of Engineering Services, Engr. Adamu Alfa Abu who also spoke at the site revealed that his Department will take immediate proactive measures to restore street lightening to the affected areas.
