The Lagos State Police Command has paraded 39 suspects arrested for alleged vandalism, theft, robbery and other criminal activities across the state, including the repeated vandalism of infrastructure on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and Third Mainland Bridge.

The suspects were paraded yesterday by the Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, who said the command had recovered various stolen items and dangerous weapons during its recent operations.

Items recovered included vandalised iron materials and cables, a truck loaded with cartons of spaghetti, one double-barrel long gun, 14 locally made pistols, one live cartridge, seven cutlasses, 16 knives, 13 bags of substances suspected to be Indian hemp, a point-of-sale (PoS) machine, assorted charms and a laptop.

Fatai said that between January and August 2026, criminals had removed about 1,800 manhole covers, broken reinforcement structures and stolen iron materials from the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.

He added that the vandals also removed about 1,000 metres of wire-mesh fencing and 75 directional signs along the road.

According to him, on August 17, police operatives arrested 19-year-old Courage Ogbemudiah, Michael Janes, Muhammed Mustapha, Muyideen Ola, Emmanuel James, Tadious Nanius, Anthony Nucase, Makinde Muize, Bolaji Raji and Waliu Kabiru over alleged repeated vandalism of infrastructure along the coastal road.

Vandalised iron materials were recovered from the suspects.

The commissioner also disclosed that 28-year-old Chidiebere Ochiri was arrested for allegedly vandalising and stealing government-installed CCTV camera cables, iron materials and other infrastructure on the Third Mainland Bridge.

He said Ochiri admitted to being involved in the crime for several months and allegedly sold vandalised copper wires to scavengers and scrap dealers for about N12,000 per kilogramme. A quantity of copper wire was recovered from him.

Fatai said operatives conducting stop-and-search operations in the Aguda area of Lagos also arrested 22-year-old Olamide Suleiman, who was allegedly found in possession of Cannabis sativa.

A subsequent search of Suleiman’s bag at the police station led to the recovery of a locally made pistol and a cartridge.

During interrogation, the suspect allegedly told the police that the pistol belonged to a man identified as Emir.

He subsequently led operatives to a hotel where Emir was staying, where a double-barrel gun was recovered from a room allegedly occupied by him.

The commissioner further disclosed the arrest of 35-year-old Ibrahim Abidogun, popularly known as Shifon, in Aguda, Surulere, on August 18. He was allegedly identified as a member of the Aiye Confraternity.

A search of his residence reportedly led to the recovery of a locally made pistol.

Fatai also disclosed that police operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted a trailer loaded with goods parked in front of a church in Egbeda.

According to him, several mini-trucks were arriving at the location to evacuate goods from the trailer, prompting the deployment of operatives to investigate.

He said the information was confirmed upon the arrival of the police, resulting in the arrest of the trailer driver, Amisu Isah.

However, a second truck, into which some of the goods had reportedly been transferred, fled the scene with other suspects. An Acura SUV allegedly used by one of the fleeing suspects was recovered.

A search of the trailer led to the recovery of cartons of spaghetti, while further investigation resulted in the arrest of one of the fleeing suspects, identified as Emmanuel.

Fatai said the arrests and recoveries demonstrated the command’s commitment to tackling crime through intelligence-led policing.