Robbery, selling and buying of manhole covers – who dey behind dis dangerous business?

Bruhan Abubakar no fit waka for about a week afta e break leg as e enta open manhole for Abuja, Nigeria capital city.

Manhole na opening wey dey along di road wey pesin fit enta to reach underground.

Dis manholes wey goment put for road no be just to make am fine but to also give room for cleaning of di drainages if e block wit dirty.

E dey also allow free flow of water from di roads thru di manholes so dat di road no go spoil quick from water wey dey gada for di road.

Some electricity and cable workers too dey use manholes to access underground cables and wires.

But most of dis manholes no get cover again sake of say jaguda pipo don tiff am.

Dis manholes wey no get cover again dey pose threat to human lives, especially for night and during raining season.

Reports of how pipo don fall inside witout knowing plenti for social media, while some get lucky to come out alive, odas no dey lucky.

Many pipo, cars and animals don fall victim of open manholes sake of say jaguda pipo dey always tiff di covers.

Abubakar na one of di several survivors of manhole accident for Nigeria.

Im tell BBC News Pidgin say na for one gathering di incident happun and dat time di place bin dey crowded no pesin no go fit see di manhole just like dat.

Di accident leave Abubakar wit dislocation and oda bodily injuries.

Im explain say im leg bin dislocate wit plenti wound. "Pipo bin full di place for one political campaign, as I bin dey waka, I no know say manhole dey dia and dis manhole no get cover. Na so I fall inside wit my right leg."

"Wen dem carry me go hospital doctor say dem need to treat my leg and I fit spend like two weeks for hospital. For one week I no use my leg waka."

Apart from di physical trauma wey im face, im also tell BBC Pidgin say im also spend money wey im bin no plan to spend ontop treatment.

Just like Abubakar, many pipo don get dis kain accidents and some no fit use dia legs again, some don loss and odas dey nurse injuries.

For Lagos state, Southwest Nigeria, plenti manholes dey open and dey cause major risk to residents as dia covers don disappear.

Tori be say na scavengers and touts dey remove di manholes and resell dem as dia value dey very high for black market.

Dis situation don lead to different accidents and deaths, especially for flooded areas.

Weeks ago, di Lagos state house of assembly pass resolution to call on di govnor of di state to enforce di state environmental management protection law 2024.

If dem enforce di law, e get serious penalties for offenders and scavengers.

Di lawmakers also tell goment to begin teach members of di public why pipo no suppose comot di manholes and di dangers wey dey follow am.

Na di same tori dey also come of Port Harcourt, di Rivers State capital wia goment to deploy different strategy to secure manhole covers.

Police for Abuja bin parade some of dis suspected manhole cover tiffs, for different videos wey bin dey circulate online. Some of di suspects agree say na dem dey collect am.

But why dem dey tiff dis goment properties and which pipo dey buy am?

All pantaker markets for di Federal Capital Territory neva still open, na wetin FCT Police Command tok-tok pesin, Josephine Adeh tell BBC Pidgin.

She say All pantaker markets go remain closed until dem finish dia profiling.

On Sunday, 9 January, 2025 di FCT Police Command for statement say na 125 manhole covers dem don recover so far.

Di Commissioner of Police, Disu Olatunji also ban scavengers (pipo wey dey pick metals and oda item from dumpsite) make dem no waka inside town again.

"Anybody wey we catch wey tiff or spoil goment property we go charge dem am go court for economic sabotage, if possible attempted murder or murder" CP Disu tok.