‘Pure wickedness’ — Sheikh Gumi reacts to scavengers stripping Lagos bridge pillars of iron rods

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has expressed strong disapproval over the alleged destruction of the bridge connecting Alakija and FESTAC in Lagos State. Gumi labeled the removal of iron rods from the bridge's concrete pillars by scavengers as "pure wickedness." In a Facebook post on Saturday, Gumi reacted to a video that showed suspected scavengers allegedly breaking the concrete pillars to extract embedded iron rods.

"This is not poverty but pure wickedness. And it's all over the nation having animals in human skin," Gumi wrote in his post.

The video circulating on social media displayed police officers clearing makeshift dwellings placed beneath the bridge by the suspected scavengers. An unidentified individual in the video claimed that several concrete pillars of the bridge had been damaged after the removal of reinforcing iron rods. The individual called for urgent intervention by relevant authorities to halt further damage to the bridge.

"These scavengers have started removing the iron rods from the pillars supporting the bridge. This is what they have been doing to all the pillars holding the bridge," the person said.

The individual provided information that the scavengers broke the concrete structures to gain access to the iron rods placed within the pillars. They expressed serious concerns that continued vandalism could jeopardize the bridge's structural integrity and potentially lead to its collapse. The bridge, according to the individual, was built by the Federal Housing Authority approximately five years ago. The individual urged authorities to take immediate action to safeguard the infrastructure from additional vandalism.