FCTA To Treat Vandals As Economic Saboteurs

By: Wisdom Acka & Nabeela Pai

Henceforth, vandals of public infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory will will be treated as economic saboteurs.

This decision was made on Monday at the FCT Security Council meeting, chaired by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Commissioner of Police, FCT, Olatunji Disu, who disclosed this in a chat with journalists at the end of the meeting, stressed the need for stricter penalties.

He noted that the punishment so far meted to vandals was not severe enough to serve as deterrence from indulging in such criminal activities.

The CP lamented: “Many of these criminals are fined as little as ₦2,000, or given 24 strokes of the cane. This does nothing to deter them. Going forward, we will charge them with economic sabotage and, in severe cases, attempted murder or murder.”

Disu highlighted the dangers of vandalism; saying that removal of manhole covers lead to fatal accidents, and could also claim life.

His words: “These acts are enough to kill residents of the Federal Capital Territory. Imagine driving at night and falling into an open manhole. This is not just about infrastructure, it is also about lives”,

He, thus, called on residents to view public infrastructure as shared property and report suspicious activities to security agencies.

“If you see something, say something. Let’s join hands to protect what belongs to all of us”, the Commissioner added.