The Lagos State Government has raised alarm over the theft of Lekki-Epe road signs, saying thieves remove newly installed signs within days and hamper efforts to keep the corridor safe.

Olawale Musa, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, raised the issue Tuesday at a stakeholders meeting on the final phase of repairs to the expressway, from Bonny Camp to Admiralty Way Junction and the VGC section in Eti-Osa.

Why Lekki-Epe road signs keep disappearing

Musa said residents have asked for enough traffic signs along the road, and the state wants to provide them. The obstacle is theft. “In a matter of days, these signs are gone,” he said, calling the pattern strange.

He said the thefts are also stopping the state from putting up signs in other parts of Lagos, and urged residents to watch the signs and help apprehend those responsible.

Without proper signs, drivers lose warnings about diversions, lane changes and hazards, which matters most on a road under repair.

What the repair work involves

Olufemi Daramola, Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, said work on the final stretch would start this week, after residents and business owners had a chance to give their views. He asked them to cooperate so the job can be finished quickly.

Musa promised that officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and security personnel would be on the road day and night while the work lasts, to keep traffic moving.

Daramola said safety and speed were essential to avoid long traffic jams around the Lekki axis, and that the businesses and residents of Eti-Osa were too important to ignore.

The state says it has so far rebuilt or rehabilitated 69.44 kilometers of the expressway, including 49.7 kilometers of reinforced concrete pavement. The first phase, 18.75 kilometers from Eleko to the Epe T Junction, was commissioned in February 2023.

Officials describe the road as the gateway to the Lekki Free Zone, the Dangote refinery, the Lekki Deep Sea Port and more than 500 housing estates. Planned projects along the corridor include the Green Line rail and the Fourth Mainland Bridge.

A problem that predates the repairs

Signage has been a complaint before. In 2024, a residents’ association on the peninsula pressed the state over pedestrian safety on newly paved sections, and a state official said proper signs around construction corridors were being put in place.

Sign theft is a problem in other places too. In March, leaders in Uganda’s Buliisa District said unknown people were removing signs and pointed to scrap dealers, warning that missing signs had contributed to accidents.

Officials did not say who they suspect or how many signs have been stolen, and the state gave no figures on arrests.

Musa argued that arrests, once visible, would deter others, and that signs could then go up elsewhere in the state.

Until the thefts stop, every new sign the state installs is a short term investment. Drivers on the busy corridor will rely on signs that may already be gone by the next morning.