Driver arrested for removing Eko Bridge rails

A commercial bus driver, Ademola Ibrahim, has been arrested by the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly removing the rails under and above the Eko Bridge.

The RRS on Monday said Ibrahim had conspired with one Kampo to commit the crime on April 24, 2015, at about 7pm.

A police source said the suspects had pretended that their vehicle, a Volkswagen Vanagon, with number plate, MUS 457 XK, broke down on the bridge, while actually packing the rails into the bus.

He added that when the RRS policemen appeared at the scene, Kampo took to his heels.

The source said, “The RRS operatives actually acted on reliable information that some miscreants were removing the bridge’s rails.

“When Ibrahim was arrested and questioned on how he came about the rails, he said Kampo contacted him to come and pack the rails for him.

“Based on that, the patrol team arrested him. From our investigation, the theft was a conspiracy between him and Kampo. Our investigation revealed that they had been engaging in the act for a long time in that place and in other locations across the state.

“Their action is capable of making the bridge to suddenly collapse because the rails are the irons that hold some components of the bridge together. This is a serious crime because the action could lead to a disaster.”

The RRS commander, ACP Olatunji Disu, said a manhunt had been launched to arrest the suspect, who is on the run, adding that Ibrahim would be charged to court.

Ibrahim, however, said he was living under the bridge in the Iddo Terminus with Kampo, adding that the man asked him to help him to take some irons with his bus to somewhere.

Ibrahim said, “Kampo told me that he had some rails somewhere and that I should help him pack them. He never told me that he stole the irons. As we were packing the irons on the Ijora Bridge, we saw the RRS patrol vehicle and he took to his heels and I was arrested.”