Two suspects were arrested for allegedly stealing litres of diesel products meant for street lights in Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.
The suspect, a female staff of Lagos State Electricity Board, Monsura Eniola was arrested alongside her accomplice, Taiwo, a hotel manager while attempting to divert the products minutes after it was supplied.
The suspects and the product allegedly stolen, according to the Special Assistant to the Executive Chairman on security matters, Comrade Ayo Oshodi, were handed over to police officers at the Ijeshatedo police state for further investigation.
Comrade Oshodi lamented that street lights in Agbebi, Ijesha road and Lawanson road which were commissioned during the administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola have not been functioning.
He stated that for over two years, streets in Itire-Ikate LCDA have suffered neglect in the areas of provision of street lights save for the solar-powered street lights facilitated by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.
He added, “Street lights in almost all the communities in Itire-Ikate communities have stopped working in the last two years or more.
Some of our streets in Itire-Ikate community are powered by solar energy facilitated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.
Aside from this, residents live in a total blackout because of the absence of a generator to power the street lights.
A similar situation exists in Agbebi, Ijesha road and Imam Shuaib as in the last two years and still counting, our streets have been in total blackout.
Despite a standby generator, street lights on Adeshina Street, have never for once lit up the community.
It is therefore shocking to discover that despite this blackout, there are claims of a steady supply of diesel to our communities yet our streets at night are in darkness.
Consequently, we received complaints from the affected communities with residents alleging sabotage of efforts of the government by its officials.
They complained that diesel that was meant for the street light’s generator are diverted by the Lagos State officials.
We started monitoring the supply of diesel to Agbebi to establish the alleged diversion.
And our efforts eventually paid off with the arrest of two suspects.
How did we achieve this? Around 6 pm, they came to supply diesel to a generator that has not been working for so many years.
After the supply, they left.
But we were surprised to see another set of people walk into the picture. They started loading their gallons with the diesel and got them arrested.
We arrested two people. A woman who claimed to be a staff of the Lagos State Electricity Board and her partner who we later learnt is a manager in a hotel in Ojuelegba.”
Speaking on the implications of the non-functionality of street lights, he said, “Hoodlums have taken advantage of the blackout to perpetrate evil acts. They rob residents of their valuables.”
While describing the suspects’ attitude as sabotage of Lagos State Government’s efforts towards lighting up the state, Executive Chairman of Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area, Hon (Dr) Ahmed Apatira, urged residents to desist from acts that could threaten the peace of the community.
He appealed to the concerned state agency to ensure that street lights in Itire-Ikate LCDA are restored while stressing his administration’s commitment to curbing insecurity and all forms of criminality.
“I want to assure all residents of our commitment to providing all-around security for the safety of lives and properties. We are poised to combat insecurity and ensure that our communities are conducive for residents to live.
However, it is disturbing to see some people making attempts to sabotage the efforts of the Lagos State government aimed at effectively lighting up our streets.
For so many years, almost all our streets are in total darkness all because of some unscrupulous elements. We have seen situations whereby diesel products are supplied every ten days to power the street lights yet our communities are in darkness.
One cannot but wonder what happened to the product being supplied every ten days? Or how can we explain the supply of diesel to generators that are not functioning?
This is indeed a clear case of sabotage and a deliberate attempt to inflict hardship on residents. Now that they have been caught, what more can I say other than to allow the police to thoroughly investigate the suspects and the alleged diesel theft. All hands must be on deck to combat all forms of crime.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos state street lights relationship manager, Engineer Sikiru Olawale, has debunked the allegation of diesel theft as spurious.
When he visited the Ijesha Police station on Saturday to secure the bail of the arrested suspects, he said the Agbebi station where the alleged diesel theft took place serves as a diesel distribution depot from where the product is distributed to various communities.
“They were illegally arrested. The diesel products were meant to be distributed to streets including Adetola, Abraham, Falolu, Amosun and Afribank etc. Everything they did was according to my instructions. I chose Agbebi as the depot because of its closeness to other points.
Our distribution point is at Eagle club but due to the increasing cost of distribution, I moved the depot to Agbebi but I was surprised when I heard that they have been arrested for stealing diesel.
Although nobody would see diesel being dispensed and after a while being taken out of the community without raising an eyebrow but I can assure you that there is no case of diesel theft as alleged.
The diesel is meant to be taken to other spots to power their street lights.”
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