Metro

Why We Shun Pedestrian Bridges Despite Risks, Despite Punitive Measures — Lagosians

Published

3 weeks ago

September 6, 2025

…‘We’ve prosecuted over 4,000 offenders since January 2024 —LAGESC

Mojeed (other name withheld) was in a hurry to catch an early morning BRT bus that fateful Monday. He lives at Iyana Ipaja on the Lagos Mainland and works on Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island. Already running late, he decided to circumvent the law to save time. He knew the regulation was clear—pedestrians must use the pedestrian bridge—but like many Lagosians, he only complied when enforcement officers were in sight.

Nothing suggested that trouble was lurking. He had just crossed the busy highway and was heading towards the bus station when operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) accosted him.

Asked why he ignored the pedestrian bridge, Mojeed gave an incoherent excuse. Within minutes, he was bundled into a waiting Black Maria alongside other offenders. He was held for over three hours before being released, his plan to get to work on time completely defeated.

“It was such a regrettable incident for me,” he admitted.

Unfortunately, Mojeed’s experience is far from unique. Despite the Lagos State government’s huge investment in pedestrian bridges across the state and the introduction of punitive measures to enforce compliance, many residents still risk their lives daily by running across expressways instead of using the bridges.

A Saturday Tribune investigation revealed that, like Mojeed, several pedestrians prefer the dangerous option of crossing highways. But unlike him, many Lagosians who spoke to Saturday Tribune defended their choices, citing insecurity, poor sanitation, the strenuous climb and time-wasting as reasons for avoiding pedestrian bridges.

Security concerns on pedestrian bridges
Agnes, a resident of Iyana Ipaja who works with an advertising agency in Ikeja GRA, told Saturday Tribune that she often feels unsafe using pedestrian bridges, particularly at night.

“When the state government was building the pedestrian bridge at PWD along the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway, we were happy. We thought it would reduce accidents and traffic chaos. But now, the bridge is often deserted except for self-appointed sweepers and area boys hanging around. I get scared, and sometimes I would rather cross the expressway and face the consequences,” she said.

Anthony Imaseun, a 27-year-old graduate of the University of Benin who works with a construction firm on Victoria Island, shared a similar fear. For him, the menace of hoodlums loitering around Sandfill pedestrian bridge is a major deterrent.

“They smoke weed openly in broad daylight. Nobody checks them. How can we be sure anyone will come to your aid if you are attacked on that bridge?” he asked.

Anthony, however, believes the situation can be salvaged. “Government should install security cameras and provide visible security presence. That assurance alone will make more people use the bridges,” he suggested.

Sanitation and accessibility issues

For Evelyn Ilo, a Jakande Estate resident who works in Apapa, dirt and encroachment discourage her from using pedestrian bridges.

“Some of the bridges have been turned into public toilets or mini-markets by traders. The filth is unbearable and you don’t feel safe walking there. I prefer to cross the expressway, even though I know it’s risky,” she said.

Evelyn advised the government to improve cleanliness, remove hawkers, provide lighting and install ramps or escalators to make bridges accessible to the elderly, children and the physically challenged.

Christopher Chukwuka also lamented the dilapidated state of many pedestrian bridges. “At night, they are dangerous. Hoodlums block your way from both ends, leaving no escape. Until government fixes the bridges and provides security, I’d rather cross the road,” he declared.

Taiwo, a resident of Mowe who works in Lagos, echoed similar concerns. “The pedestrian bridge in Mowe is dark and unsafe at night. The climb is also stressful, especially for the elderly and disabled. Yet, the risk of crossing the expressway is enormous because many lives have been lost to speeding vehicles. Government must light up these bridges and build more along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway,” he advised.

Mixed views: Safety vs. inconvenience

Not all Lagosians avoid the bridges. Olamide, a journalist, said he prefers using them.

“The expressways are too dangerous. I have seen too many near-accidents to take that risk. But the bridges themselves are not always pleasant; they are dirty, poorly lit and sometimes filled with miscreants. Government must maintain them better and make them user-friendly. If that happens, more people will abandon the risky habit of dashing across the road,” he said.

Government’s enforcement drive

Despite these concerns, the Lagos State government insists that enforcement remains non-negotiable.

Recently, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said the government would continue to deploy enforcement strategies to ensure compliance.

Confirming this, Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), Lukman Ajayi, told Saturday Tribune that enforcement is ongoing.

“On Friday, we arrested 18 offenders at 7&8 Bus Stop, Onipanu, and Fadeyi for failing to use pedestrian bridges. Since January 2024, no fewer than 4,000 offenders have been arrested and prosecuted. The exercise will continue until residents comply fully,” Ajayi stated.

For now, however, the gulf remains wide between government’s insistence on compliance and residents’ reluctance to climb the bridges provided for their safety. Until issues of security, sanitation, and accessibility are addressed, many Lagosians may continue to risk their lives crossing highways, despite the danger, despite the law.
(TRIBUNE)

Metro

I Met My Ex-girlfriend Naked, Chanting At My Gate —Man

Published

6 hours ago

September 27, 2025

Editor

I was praying – Woman

A banker narrated how he found a woman, who claims to be his ex-girlfriend and a prayer warrior, at the gate of his house around 01:00 hours naked and bathing in what is believed to have been charms.

According to Zambia Observer, the banker, Burton Musonda, and his teacher-wife, Hoper Chinyimba, 33, of Obama Chelston, are charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Burton said he found Mainess Muumba naked outside his house barely a month after he obtained a court order restraining her from being close to him or his family.

“When asked what she was dong at the premises when there was an active restraining order against her, she said that they have bad luck in her family and cannot get married and that was the reason she was bathing in those bath salts, “he said.

Burton and his wife, who have pleaded not guilty, allegedly assaulted Ms Mumba last year.

Metro

Soldier Sentenced To Death For Murder, Armed Robbery In Akwa Ibom

Published

20 hours ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a dismissed soldier with the Nigerian Army, 6 Battalion, Ibagwa in Abak, Corporal Stephen Iweh, to death by hanging for the murder of a 42-year-old man, Christopher Enobong Jimmy.

The incident occurred on 23rd May, 2021, along the East-West Road in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area.

The late Jimmy, who was the Manager of a Clearing and Forwarding Company in Port Harcourt, had offered Corporal Iweh a lift in his car from Trailer Park in Onne, Rivers State, to Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom.

Along the way, at Oboro Junction in Ikot Abasi, the 39 year-old soldier shot him dead before fleeing with the vehicle and valuables.

Investigations revealed that Corporal Iweh, a father of three children, had illegally kept the AK-47 rifle which he said he “picked at Dambou, Borno State in 2018 and decided to keep it as personal arms”.

On the day of the killing, Corporal Iweh, was supposed to be on duty at the Army Store, 6 Battalion, Ibagwa, Abak, but abandoned his post to commit the crime.

He was later traced to Andy Guest House in Ukanafun, many kilometers from the scene of crime, where he was arrested and the rifle recovered.

In a judgment, the trial judge, Hon. Justice Bassey Nkanang held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Corporal Iweh, a native of Ameke Nkor in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, murdered Christopher Enobong Jimmy, an indigene of Ikot Abasi, robbed him of his Toyota Matrix car, while armed with an AK-47 rifle and unlawfully possessed the firearm without a license.

The late Jimmy, Manager of a Clearing and Forwarding Company in Port Harcourt, was travelling home in his grey Toyota Matrix, when he gave the soldier, who was in full military uniform, a lift, at the Trailer Park in Onne enroute Akwa Ibom State.

The soldier later shot Jimmy at a junction in Oboro, Ikot Abasi, where they had stopped to urinate and eat Pork meat, before fleeing with the vehicle and other belongings.

Justice Nkanang convicted him on a three-count charge. He was sentenced to death by hanging for murder, death by hanging for armed robbery, and 10 years imprisonment for unlawful possession of firearms.

In his plea for mercy, the convict begged the court for what he described as a “soft landing,” but his allocutus was rejected.

The late Christopher Jimmy is survived by his 34-year-old widow, Arit, who tearfully recounted that her husband had left Port Harcourt to visit his sister and family in Ikot Abasi, but did not return home.

Metro

Six Arrested For Alleged Killing Of Police Constable In Bayelsa

Published

20 hours ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

Bayelsa State Police Command says it has arrested six suspected cultists for allegedly killing a police constable, Oboh Goodluck in the state.
‎The Commissioner of Police, CP Francis Idu, made this known at the funeral rites for the deceased on Friday in Yenagoa.

Goodluck was reportedly killed in OMPADEC area of Amarata community on his way to work by a cult group on August 19.
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‎Idu said other key suspects identified to have been involved in the murder would soon be apprehended.
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‎He warned attackers of police personnel to desist from it to avoid the wrath of the law.

READ ALSO:Bayelsa Education Ministry Denies Alleged Deductions From Contractors’ Payments
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‎Idu assured the family of the deceased that his attackers would face justice. He also assured the rank and file that the top echelon of the Nigeria Police Force would always defend them.
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‎The CP announced that a formal request would be sent to the Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa to make the site, where Goodluck was killed, a monument site to be remembered.
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‎The representative of the Ayadei/Oboh family, Comrade Kwokwo Robert, while appreciating the Police authorities for the assistance in the final burial rites, called for justice for the late policeman.