Vandals strip Lagos-Ibadan Longbridge of solar streetlights, raising fears of night attacks on motorists

Key points

• Weeks after 168 solar streetlights were counted missing from the roughly five-kilometer Longbridge, a fresh visit found only about 20 still standing.
• Residents say the vandals target sections where pedestrians rarely pass, leaving lights near both busy ends untouched.
• Ogun’s Federal Controller of Works, Michael Komolafe, said a crash involving a police patrol vehicle may have thinned security presence, and no replacement plan has been confirmed.

The Longbridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is back in darkness after vandals removed most of the remaining solar-powered streetlights along the roughly five-kilometer stretch, leaving only a handful in place.

The fresh losses come weeks after a count from the OPIC end toward Warewa found that at least 168 streetlights had already vanished. A follow-up visit on Monday confirmed the theft had not stopped.

About 20 lights now stand roughly three kilometers into the bridge, with a few more clinging on at either end.

The lights went up in 2025 and started disappearing within months. The thieves appear to have worked carefully, loosening the screws and nuts holding the poles before lifting them off the bridge.

Some sections lost single lights at intervals, while others were cleared for stretches of up to 300 meters. In a few spots, the poles look to have been ripped out by force.

Why the middle went dark first

The bridge runs from Warewa to the OPIC/Kara end and borders communities including Arepo, Warewa, Banku, Mokore, Arigbede and Magboro. Residents believe the pattern of theft explains itself.

Bolu Adeogun pointed out that the lights at both ends survived because people pass through those areas constantly, whereas the isolated middle sections see almost no pedestrians and offer easy cover.

Aminat Adio said nothing had changed since the removals began and called on the authorities to investigate. Similarly, a resident who gave his name only as Moses warned that the return of darkness could revive the robberies, kidnappings and attacks on stranded motorists that were common before the lights were installed.

The Longbridge has long carried a reputation as a danger zone, especially for drivers whose vehicles break down at night.

After the earlier report, police officers took up a makeshift post on the bridge. However, that presence seems to have faded.

Patrol gap and no replacement plan

Michael Komolafe, the Federal Controller of Works in Ogun State, said on Monday that he had not heard more lights were gone but found the development worrying.

He recalled that the divisional police officer had promised regular patrols. Later, though, the DPO told him a patrol vehicle had been rammed and damaged, leaving one officer in hospital for two days. Consequently, Komolafe believes the vandals seized on the gap.

In his view, the perpetrators are growing bolder. Meanwhile, no plan to replace the lights has been confirmed.

Komolafe said he has briefed headquarters but has no directive yet, and he insisted that any new installation must come with a strategy to stop the theft. Otherwise, he said, “it’s just as if we are working for the vandals.”