The National Assembly is considering a new legislation that would make vandalism of public properties a criminal offense punishable by death.
Senate Committee Chairman on Land Transport, Sen. Adamu Aliero, made the announcement in Kano, citing the need to curb the rampant vandalism of public infrastructure, including rail lines, power installations, oil and gas installations, and bridges.
Similarly, House of Representative Member, Hon. Blessing Onuh, expressed concern over the theft of rail tracks and sleepers, and the need to install anti-theft mechanisms to prevent further vandalism, according to Nigerian Tribune.
“We have also resolved between ourselves, the Senate and the House, to go back and discuss further on how we can review the contract and see how we can install anti-theft mechanisms to stop people or vandals from vandalizing the existing tracks that we have” She stated.
The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Sa’id Ahmed Alkali, assured that the ministry and Nigerian Railway Corporation are working with security agencies to deploy surveillance and prevent vandalism of public properties.
The consideration of death penalty for vandalism comes as the country grapples with the increasing cases of vandalism of public infrastructure, including the theft of manhole covers on highways.
“If possible, any vandal caught sabotaging public infrastructure, the punishment should attract the death penalty. Probably if that happens, it will go a long way in reducing vandalization drastically.
“You see, it is very unfortunate that it is not only the rail line that has been vandalized. As you rightly know, power installations oil and gas installations, and bridges are been vandalized” he stated.
Sen. Sa’id Ahmed Alkali, the Minister of Transportation explained that the ministry and,” of course, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) are working hard to ensure that these vandals do not destroy our properties.
“We are deploying so many major surveillance in conjunction with the security agencies to ensure that these properties are not allowed to be vandalized”.