The Federal Ministry of Works and the Nigeria Police Force have agreed to deepen their collaboration on the security of major highways and road construction sites, with the minister disclosing that the federal government’s current portfolio of road projects was valued at approximately 34 trillion naira and that sustained security support was essential to their delivery.
Minister of Works David Umahi received Inspector General of Police Rilwan Disu and his delegation at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, where discussions covered the protection of workers, equipment, and completed road infrastructure across the country. Umahi said security support had already been decisive in enabling the execution of projects in challenging environments, singling out a 240-kilometre dual carriageway project in Sokoto State as an example of work that would have been difficult to sustain without combined security agency backing.
He outlined a planned security enhancement across key highway corridors, including the installation of solar-powered streetlighting, closed-circuit television surveillance, observation posts, and dedicated police monitoring facilities. He said the initiative would begin on strategic routes across all six geopolitical zones, covering the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, the Eleme-Onne corridor, the Mararaba-Benue route, and the Numan-Jalingo road. He also called for the Federal Highway Patrol unit to be strengthened to focus exclusively on highway security, with toll revenues from major roads used to help fund such operations.
The inspector general described roads as vital national assets that carried not just daily commerce but the future of the country. He said improved road infrastructure contributed directly to crime reduction by creating employment and stimulating economic activity in communities, and proposed that major highway projects incorporate dedicated security infrastructure including police checkpoints, patrol bases, observation centers, and drone monitoring facilities. He appealed for the provision of patrol and armoured vehicles to support highway policing operations.
Umahi said the government was applying reinforced concrete pavement technology on many projects, producing roads expected to last between 50 and 100 years.
