We installed CCTV on Third Mainland Bridge to check suicide cases — Umahi

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has disclosed that the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos was aimed at checking suicide cases and monitoring illegal activities beneath the structure.

Speaking on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Umahi explained that the surveillance infrastructure was introduced as part of a broader effort to enhance safety on the bridge.

“We have put CCTVs down under the deck so that anybody that is excavating sand within the 10-kilometre radius will be spotted. We have built, beside the bank of the sea on Third Mainland Bridge, an examination house where we have the police, navy, army, and local security,” the minister said.

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“They will all be there watching the CCTV so that anybody who is trying to take his life on the third mainland bridge, they will spot the person. With this CCTV, there will be no more excavation of sand under the deck around the pies,” he added.

Umahi also raised concerns about ongoing sand excavation under the bridge deck, warning that such activities posed a threat to the structure’s stability.

The minister further commented on the recent reopening of the Independence Bridge in Lagos, which underwent emergency repair works following a structural failure.

He explained that the temporary closure was necessitated by a defect in the approach slab of the bridge, which had collapsed due to what he described as a flawed design.

According to him, the slab was originally constructed as a cantilever — a design he deemed structurally unsuitable. 

He noted that the failure occurred after the sand fill supporting the slab washed away, endangering commuters and prompting urgent intervention.

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