Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal Government has launched a dedicated security team, the Coastal Highway Guards, to protect the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from vandalism, illegal occupation, and other unauthorised activities that have plagued the multi-billion-naira infrastructure project. The initiative, unveiled on Sunday, August 9, 2026, by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, began with the deployment of 40 officers who will maintain a visible presence along the highway and work with relevant security agencies in Lagos State. The team is led by retired General Adekunle Shodunke and will operate in collaboration with security agencies to ensure effective monitoring and protection of the road infrastructure.
Umahi, speaking at the launch, expressed deep concern over the removal of construction materials and the unauthorised occupation of sections of the highway, describing the perpetrators as "very terrible, unpatriotic elements". "We have had very terrible, unpatriotic elements removing the blocks, breaking the fence, removing the rods and treading on the highway. This must stop," the minister declared. He emphasised that the initiative was not an empowerment programme but a full-time security assignment designed to protect national assets and aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda.
The guards have been tasked with a comprehensive set of responsibilities, including maintaining a security presence along the highway, reporting suspicious activities, monitoring and reporting vandalism, and restricting hawking, loitering, and the use of commercial motorcycles (Okada) and tricycles (Keke) on the highway. Umahi directed the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos to ensure that motorcycles, tricycles, hawkers, and other unauthorised users were kept off the coastal road. "Their job is that no keke on the coastal highway, no motorcycle on the coastal highway, and no loitering. There is no superhighway all over the country where you see people loitering," he added.
The minister's concerns were underscored by a late-night inspection he conducted with members of the National Assembly, during which they found people sleeping on the highway. "Last night, we were there with the National Assembly members by 11 pm; people were sleeping on the coastal highway. It must stop. No hawking, no occupation illegally along the entire coast," Umahi said. He also called on the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to strengthen the protection of strategic national infrastructure.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a massive 750-kilometre, 10-lane road designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states. The project is being executed by Hitech Construction Company Limited under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works. The highway is one of the Federal Government's major infrastructure projects, intended to improve connectivity and stimulate economic activities along the nation's coastline. The deployment of the Coastal Highway Guards comes amid growing concerns over the security of critical infrastructure across Nigeria, with the government increasingly focused on protecting its investments from vandalism and theft. Umahi also disclosed that the Ministry of Works had opened its ongoing projects to scrutiny by anti-corruption agencies.
Meanwhile, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere stressed on Sunday that the oil-rich coastal communities of Ondo State would not accept any deviation from the original design of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. The group's Secretary-General, Sola Ebiseni, rejected the minister's explanation that engineering challenges necessitated bypassing the state's coastline, insisting that the terrain was not insurmountable and that the project must fully integrate Ondo's 100-kilometre Atlantic shoreline. As the Federal Government continues to push forward with one of its most ambitious infrastructure projects, the success of the Coastal Highway Guards will be closely watched by stakeholders and citizens alike. Whether the 40 officers and their retired general can effectively secure a 750-kilometre highway against determined vandals and illegal occupiers remains to be seen, but the government has made its position clear: the era of impunity on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is over.
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