Federal Government launches Coastal Highway Guards to protect Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

This initiative was announced by Jubril Gawat, Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the Lagos State Governor, on Sunday. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, launched the program with an initial 40 officers. These personnel will be responsible for maintaining a presence on the highway, reporting suspicious activities, restricting hawking, monitoring and reporting vandalism, and preventing tricycles, motorcycles, and loitering on the Coastal Highway.

The team will be led by retired Gen. Adekunle Shodunke and will collaborate with state security agencies. Umahi emphasized that this is a full-time job to protect national assets, not an empowerment program. He previously expressed concern over the removal of construction materials and illegal occupation along sections of the highway, directing the Works Controller in Lagos to prevent unauthorized activities.

Umahi also urged the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to enhance its protection of national infrastructure and stated that the ministry's ongoing projects are open to scrutiny by anti-corruption agencies. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 750-kilometer, 10-lane project connecting Lagos to Cross River, passing through several states, and is being developed by Hitech Construction Company Limited under the Federal Ministry of Works.