The Federal Government(FG) has inaugurated the Coastal Highway Guards, with an initial deployment of 40 personnel, to protect the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway against vandalism, illegal occupation and other unauthorised activities.
The initiative was launched on Sunday by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, according to a statement by Jubril Gawat, Senior Special Assistant on New Media to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Gawat said the guards would maintain a visible presence along the highway, report suspicious activities and monitor cases of vandalism.
Their duties will also include restricting hawking, motorcycles, tricycles and loitering on sections of the coastal highway.
The team, according to Gawat, will be headed by retired General Adekunle Shodunke and will work alongside security agencies operating in Lagos State.
Umahi stressed that the programme was not an empowerment scheme but a full-time assignment designed to safeguard government infrastructure.
“It is a full-time job to protect national assets of the government,” Gawat quoted the minister as saying.
The deployment comes amid concerns over damage to infrastructure and unauthorised occupation of portions of the highway, particularly around the Lagos section.
Umahi, during an inspection on Sunday, alleged that some people had been removing construction materials, breaking fences and interfering with completed or ongoing sections of the road.
“We have had very terrible, unpatriotic elements removing the blocks, breaking the fence, removing the rods and treading on the highway. This must stop,” he said.
The minister also directed the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos to prevent motorcycles, tricycles, hawkers and other unauthorised users from operating on the road.
He said members of the inspection team had visited the highway at about 11pm and found people sleeping on sections of the road.
“Last night, we were there with the National Assembly members by 11 pm; people were sleeping on the coastal highway. It must stop,” Umahi said.
He also called on the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to strengthen the protection of critical national infrastructure.
The minister disclosed that the Ministry of Works had opened its ongoing projects to scrutiny by anti-corruption agencies.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of the Federal Government’s major infrastructure projects under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The 750-kilometre highway is designed to connect Lagos with Cross River through Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
The first section runs from Victoria Island to Eleko in Lagos and was temporarily opened to traffic in December 2025.
The project is being executed by Hitech Construction Africa Limited under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works.
With portions of the highway already in use and construction continuing on other sections, the government is now seeking to prevent vandalism and informal activities that could undermine the infrastructure.
The deployment of the Coastal Highway Guards is therefore expected to provide a dedicated presence along the corridor while complementing existing security agencies.
