The Lagos State Government has warned against vandalising of public property, vowing to prosecute anyone found guilty.
Disclosing this on Saturday, during an interview with PUNCH, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, made this known while condemning the activities of vandals who wreaked havoc across the state by destroying government property.
Omotosho, emphasised the detrimental impacts of such crime on communities, urging residents to be vigilant and promptly report any suspicious activities to law enforcement agencies.
He added that vandalising public property does not reflect the spirit of a true Lagosian as it was the responsibility of all to ensure that such crime was put to a halt by reporting, arresting and prosecuting suspects.
Omotosho said: “It’s very clear that if you are found vandalising government property, it is economic sabotage and it carries a very heavy weight in the face of the law. So, you will be taken to court, and then the court will make a pronouncement on you, but we usually tell people that whatever the government is doing, you should own it because if you see something as your own, most likely, you don’t want anybody to vandalise it.
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“We go there and use a public address system to tell them not to dash across the road but to use the bridge. So, we will continue to do that anytime the government launches a project, it always says that the project is about the people, their community, neighbourhood and that they should protect those projects and own them so that nobody can say that he or she wants to vandalise them. Unfortunately, we still find the enemies of the society who go about to vandalise government property.
“It is the duty of all of us to see that such nonsense is stopped by apprehending, reporting, and capturing them.”
