Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, has sparked a strong debate by urging that people who vandalise public infrastructure be shot immediately without trial.
Gatekeepers News reports that the presidential aide’s comment came in response to a video shared online showing damage to an ongoing federal highway project.
Onanuga wrote on X that those caught cutting and removing iron starter bars, also called shoulder rods, at the Ibadan-Ilesa/Ife federal highway site are unconscionable vandals/thieves and the worst species of citizens, and should be shot on sight.
The clip he reacted to features workers in reflective Ministry of Works jackets explaining how vandals continue to steal crucial materials despite the presence of security at the project site.
The Ibadan-Ilesa/Ife highway is one of the major road projects the federal government is rebuilding to improve transport links between states in the southwest. Onanuga’s call has drawn criticism from civil rights voices.
Human rights activist Aisha Yesufu said such remarks from a presidential adviser threaten the rule of law and due process, warning that calling for shoot-on-sight action undermines justice and protections like fair hearing enshrined in the Constitution.
Critics argue that while vandalism of infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, and power systems causes delays, economic loss, and service disruptions across Nigeria, responses must follow legal processes rather than advocating extrajudicial punishment.
