The Enugu State Government has constituted a taskforce to tackle the menace of vandals in the water and other public facilities in the State.
According to an address by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, to newsmen, the government alerted the people of the growing number of these vandals on Friday April 5, in Enugu.
He explained that in the wee hours of today, at about 2.00 am, hoodlums in astonishing large numbers invaded the site of the ongoing installation of new ductile water pipes near the Holy Ghost Cathedral in Enugu, where they unleashed havoc and destruction on machines and other equipment. The vandals were however successfully repelled by security operatives deployed to the site before reinforcement came from the Ogui Police Station.
This terrible occurrence comes just two weeks after the Enugu State Government issued a final warning against the vandalism of the state’s water facilities. Unfortunately, acts of sponsored and purposeful wanton destruction of government water facilities and other essential infrastructure by some disloyal forces in the state appear to have increased.
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Hoodlums’ constant attacks on public infrastructure such as water galleries, electrical fittings on solar lights attached to water facilities, and damage to both high pressure and distribution pipes have delayed the reticulation of water to the state’s good people and residents, and in some cases denied innocent citizens access to potable water, resulting in a massive cost to the government. Recently, there have been reports of careless truck drivers destroying roadside kerbs on recently repaired roadways. The government hereby declares that such acts of vandalism will be viewed not only as economic sabotage, but also as acts of terrorism, for which the perpetrators will face the full force of the law.
For the avoidance of doubt, these saboteurs’ conduct constitute a number of serious offences under the Criminal Code Cap 30 Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004. These offences include stealing and malicious destruction, among others, and are penalised by varied periods of imprisonment and fines. The State Government would not hesitate to apply the full force of the law to the perpetrators of these atrocities. The government hereby reiterates its unwavering commitment to protecting all public infrastructure by increasing security surveillance surrounding them and arresting and prosecuting anyone or group of individuals involved in these acts of sabotage.
The government encourages the public to take ownership of the facilities by protecting them and reporting the evil activities of vandals and economic saboteurs through any of our communication channels for rapid response. In light of all of these vandalism incidents, the Enugu State Government has formed a Taskforce on Surveillance and Protection of Public Assets in Enugu. The Committee would be chaired by officers and men from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), with cooperation from other security agencies. They are to begin their assignment immediately.
