Author: user user

They have been outlawed, but they have not disappeared. Across Lagos, scavengers still roam streets and communities at almost all hours, combing neighbourhoods for scraps, even as allegations of theft and vandalism increasingly trail their activities. Worried residents say their continued presence is giving them sleepless nights, while communities are resorting to their own security measures to keep them out. Dayo Ayeyemi and Francis Iwuchukwu report on the growing concerns over scavengers in Lagos and the apparent difficulty in enforcing the government’s ban.

In January 2025, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly resolved to curb manhole theft and the illegal activities of scavengers in the state.

The lawmakers made the resolution while debating a motion titled, ‘Motion to Curb the Activities of Scavengers and Manhole Theft in Lagos’, moved by Hon. Gbolahon Yishawu (Eti-Osa 2).

According to the lawmakers, if the menace of scavenging and manhole theft is not checked in the state, it could lead to an increase in accidents and blockage of drainage systems.

The House, therefore, called on the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, to sanction scavengers and cart pushers in order to curb their nefarious activities.

The lawmakers also called on the state government to enforce all relevant environmental laws, stating that there were sufficient laws to curtail such illegal acts in the state.

Interestingly, events and developments within the city in the past few months regarding the activities of scavengers are making it increasingly imperative for the state government to act on the lawmakers’ resolution and save residents and public infrastructure from what some have described as a ‘disaster waiting to happen’.

Investigations by Saturday Tribune, for instance, revealed that scavengers have, of late, become increasingly daring. A common sight in the city, they parade and stroll through virtually every nook and cranny, looking for empty cans, disused iron rods and used PET bottles. It is generally believed that they collect these items for sale as scrap to those in the recycling business as a means of earning a livelihood.

But, of late, residents have become wary that the ranks of these seemingly ‘innocent’ scavengers are being infiltrated by criminal elements. Reports regarding the activities of some of them in the past few years show that they are increasingly taking advantage of unsuspecting residents and even compromising public infrastructure under the guise of scavenging.

Their searches have, of late, gone beyond empty cans, disused iron rods and PET bottles. Some allegedly steal residents’ belongings, especially when residents let down their guard, and also vandalise public facilities.

And tales of such incidents abound. For instance, no fewer than 1,800 manhole covers have reportedly been stolen along the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway between January and August 2026, while over 4,000 manholes were said to have been vandalised across various local government and local council development areas in the state.

Residents are not spared either.

‘There was a time one of the slabs, made of heavy steel, which we used to cover our culvert to enable us to drive into the compound, was picked by these guys,’ Hakeem, a resident of Olorunto in Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of the state, complained to Saturday Tribune.

According to him, residents only discovered that the item was missing long after it had been stolen since it was not the only slab there. He expressed shock that a slab that heavy could be stolen without anybody noticing.

For Segun Odunewu, the Public Relations Officer of Abesan Estate, residents of the estate are conscious of the nefarious activities of some of these people and have deployed strategies to check them.

According to him, while the estate authorities could not restrict anybody from entering the estate, the movement of such individuals could, however, be restricted within it.

‘Those people steal a lot. And what we have done is to divide the estate into sectors. That means while anybody, including the scavengers, can walk on the major roads within the estate, they are, however, not allowed to move into the zones, that is, go near the buildings where people reside. Such steps have become imperative because those people are capable of doing anything.

‘We’ve heard different reports about them, and we believe if they could damage government bridges all in the name of extracting iron rods, that means they are capable of doing anything,’ he stated.

Besides, he added, the estate had also put up banners at strategic locations, warning scavengers that they were unwanted guests within the estate.

The Chairman of Olorunto Landlords Association, Mr Matthew Ajala, also expressed concerns over the activities of the scavengers. According to him, the community had also placed banners outlawing the activities of such people on its streets.

‘They no longer come to our street and the entire community because every street has such a banner at its entrance and exit, and they have no choice but to obey. Sometimes, they make the mistake of entering the street and once we draw their attention to the banner, they take to their heels,’ he added.

While Mr Rasheed Okoya threw his weight behind the steps taken by the various communities to secure their domains from scavengers, he, however, expressed regret that the situation had degenerated to that level.

Rasheed, an electronics technician, stated that scavengers used to be his major means of disposing of unused items in his shop in the past.

‘Before things suddenly took this negative turn, they used to come to my place and help me clear the shop of disused radios, TV sets and other electronic accessories, and even pay a token to me for doing that. Unfortunately, the thieves among them have succeeded in shutting society’s door against the innocent ones,’ he added.

Disaster waiting to happen

Decrying the activities of scavengers and the vandalisation of bridge components, an expert in the nation’s built environment, Kunle Awobodu, urged the state government to be more proactive in preventing the destruction of public facilities by scavengers operating across the city.

He pointed out that bridge underpasses in Lagos were gradually being converted into rooms, with people living and paying rent there, citing the Opebi, Ikoyi and Yaba bridges.

He said: ‘For instance, we have a flurry of activities going on daily below the Opebi Link Bridge. People have turned the bridge underpass into rooms, and these rooms are controlled by street urchins.

‘Government has not been paying attention to those activities. During the regime of Fashola, he ensured every bridge underpass was beautified so as to prevent it from becoming a den of criminals because, then, most of those places were criminals’ hideouts. They were renting the bridge underpasses to people to sleep under the control of area boys.

‘Vandalism by scavengers is all over the place. Most of the aluminium rails on the Third Mainland Bridge have been stolen. They sold them as scraps. It’s a criminal issue that the police should be involved in,’ he added.

According to him, many of those bridge underpasses are being managed by ‘baales’. He, therefore, urged the government to factor the baales into the security architecture to enable them to monitor and guard the bridges against the activities of vandals.

Also speaking to Saturday Tribune on the issue, another expert, Engineer Oyenuga, noted that besides the financial loss, it was painful to see infrastructure on which Nigerians depend being vandalised.

He described the vandalisation of bridge support systems as a ‘disaster waiting to happen’.

‘If one of the pillars fails, it will transfer more loads to other pillars, which may be too heavy for them to carry, leading to total collapse,’ he said.

Apart from this, he said the collapse of a bridge would be a huge loss to the country, estimating that it could cost more than N6 billion to build a new structure if a bridge failed.

He called on the government to make public declarations about the health of bridges and other public infrastructure in the country so as to determine the extent to which some of those facilities had been compromised.

Existing laws sufficient to handle criminal acts – SAN

Giving a legal perspective to the issue, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Solo Akuma, argued that Nigeria does not require new legislation to address criminal activities allegedly perpetrated by some persons under the guise of scavenging.

According to the legal expert, existing criminal laws are sufficient to deal with offenders.

Speaking on how best to address the growing concerns surrounding scavenging, Chief Akuma noted that although many scavengers legitimately depend on the activity for their livelihood, a fraction of persons involved in the trade allegedly engage in theft, vandalism and the destruction of government and private property.

The senior lawyer declared that it was important to distinguish between legitimate scavengers who search dump sites for recyclable or valuable materials and criminal elements who allegedly exploit scavenging as a cover for unlawful activities.

Akuma said: ‘Some people have found scavenging as a means of livelihood, and there are those who are not criminals among them, who go to dump sites to search for anything valuable they can sell to make a living.’

However, the SAN expressed concern over what he described as a fraction of persons who allegedly abandon legitimate scavenging and instead break into people’s premises, damage public facilities and steal government or private property for resale.

Chief Akuma explained that existing provisions under the Criminal Code and Penal Code already provide legal mechanisms for prosecuting offences such as theft, burglary and destruction of property.

He contended that the major challenge was not the absence of adequate laws but the need for security agencies to be more proactive in preventing and responding to criminal activities.

The senior legal luminary maintained that effective intelligence gathering, surveillance and policing could help security agencies identify and arrest persons allegedly involved in criminal acts linked to scavenging before such activities become widespread.

According to Akuma: ‘If the security agencies are proactive, they’ll be able to arrest the criminals and then deal with them according to law.’

According to the SAN, failure by relevant authorities to act promptly could allow criminal elements operating under the guise of scavenging to continue their activities unchecked.

However, the senior lawyer called for improved monitoring and protection of government facilities and other public assets rather than the enactment of fresh legislation specifically targeted at scavengers.

‘The proper thing to do is not to crave new legislation but to call for proper monitoring of government and policing of government assets so that people will not interfere with them,’ he said.

Akuma maintained that anyone found destroying or damaging government property or the belongings of private citizens in the name of scavenging should be arrested, investigated and prosecuted in accordance with existing laws.

The lawyer stressed that while legitimate scavengers should not be automatically criminalised, those who engage in theft, vandalism or other criminal conduct must be held accountable.

When contacted, Director of Public Affairs of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Kunle Adeshina, disclosed that the activities of scavengers and cart pushers remained outlawed in the state.

The response followed a query by Saturday Tribune on the position of the ministry on scavengers and the number of culprits arrested so far following the recent vandalisation of the Festac-Alakija Bridge in Lagos.

He added that the decision to outlaw their activities in the state stemmed from concerns expressed by residents and the danger their activities pose to public infrastructure.

Soothing as the ministry’s assurance to the public may be, residents of the state are still concerned that the government’s directive in this regard is not being obeyed.

‘The development is giving us sleepless nights. We still see these people at any time of the day, even till the unholy hours of the night, despite their activities being outlawed. We are wary of the security implications of their actions for our well-being, and that is why we want the government to act decisively now,’ said a resident of Agbelekale, a community in Agbado Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of the state, who did not want his name in print for security reasons.

I didn’t get a chance to write a retrospective evaluation of Professor Is-haq Oloyede’s tenure as JAMB registrar when most people did after his departure in July because the time of his exit competed with more pressing national discourses that invited my intervention. But I have always been haunted by a gnawing guilt that I haven’t shared my own assessment of a man who, though fallible like the rest of us, transformed a consequential educational institution in remarkable ways.

I have met Professor Oloyede only once in my life, and it was at the Ilorin airport in 2023 when I visited Nigeria for the first time in seven years for the formal presentation of a book that I co-wrote with colleagues Prof. Moses Ochonu and Dr Osmund Agbo.

While waiting for my delayed Lagos flight, I saw someone who looked distinctly like him. Because I had heard several great things about him from mutual friends, I summoned the courage to go and say hello to him. I was shocked that he knew me. I found him to be a warm, lively, friendly, intellectually alert yet generous and humble person.

People who knew closely had told me he embodied several curious contraries. He is a profoundly intelligent and innovative person who is nonetheless self-effacing to the point of giving you permission to underestimate him.

And although he had a First Class degree in Arabic and is deeply religious, I was told, he is wary of people who flaunt public displays of religiosity, who pepper their conversations with performative Arabic phrases that they barely understand. He himself keeps it plain and simple when he relates with Muslims outside religious contexts.

In my short interaction with him at the Ilorin airport, I instinctively activated my Arabic vocabularies to punctuate my conversations, knowing that I was speaking with a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies. He didn’t requite my performative zealousness with superior Arabic phraseology, like many people with his Arabic erudition and deep Muslim faith would do. He spoke plain English. Then I recalled what I had heard about his indifference to or even suspicion of such behaviour. I quickly adjusted.

That’s why I think the most unfair charge often hurled at him by his detractors is the charge that because of the depth of his Islamic faith and his scholarly investments in Arabic and Islamic studies, he is a Muslim bigot. It isn’t only that he self-consciously chooses not to mix the profane and the divine in everyday contexts even when he relates with fellow Muslims, he takes it as an article of faith to be scrupulously fair to Christians and other people who don’t share his faith.

There are probably people who will attribute disadvantages they suffered from him to their faith. I don’t know. Being humans, all kinds of things are possible, but people who know him intimately and whose judgment I trust, both in and out of JAMB, tell of a man who is animated by and concerned with justice and fair treatment for all irrespective of faith or other primordial variables, whose passion for making a difference is consuming.

This is the background behind his success at JAMB. When Oloyede assumed leadership of JAMB in 2016, he inherited an organisation in which astonishing large amounts of money routinely disappeared into bureaucratic sinkholes. In his first full year, JAMB remitted N7.8 billion to the federal government. The government had expected a remittance of about N500 million. The ICPC later publicly commended the anti-corruption reforms that produced this result.

I initially had a slightly different reaction to JAMB’s newfound capacity to generate billions of naira. I thought there was something morally perverse about an examination body boasting of revenue generated largely from poor young people seeking admission into universities.

In a July 13, 2021, article titled ‘Why Must Students Take UTME Every Year?’ I argued that compelling students to retake UTME every year was ‘needlessly exploitative’. A student who scores well and fails to secure admission for reasons unrelated to academic competence should, I argued, be able to use the score for at least two years and ideally for up to five years, as is possible with the SAT in the United States. I still stand by that argument.

In fact, the enormous surpluses JAMB began to remit under Oloyede helped make the case that the examination fee itself was too high. The federal government eventually reduced the basic application fee from N5,000 to N3,500 in 2019. Then Education Minister Adamu Adamu explicitly cited the extraordinary rise in JAMB’s remittances as evidence that the agency could charge candidates less and still cover its expenses. Oloyede himself later said a suggestion from the Nigerian Guild of Editors prompted him to formally recommend the reduction.

With time, however, I came to see another dimension to the revenue story. The billions JAMB suddenly started remitting were also an index of the stupendous scale of the leakages that had existed before Oloyede arrived.

The infamous story of the JAMB official in Benue who claimed that a snake had swallowed N36 million illustrates this perfectly. Many Nigerians remember the story as evidence of JAMB’s corruption. The actual story points in the opposite direction. The money disappeared years before Oloyede became registrar. It came to light because he ordered an unusually thorough audit of JAMB’s finances after assuming office. The audit exposed old thefts, led to recoveries and triggered prosecutions. I made this point in my 2023 column on the controversy over Mmesoma Ejikeme’s forged JAMB result.

By the time Oloyede left office, JAMB said it had remitted more than N50 billion in operating surpluses over his decade in office. Before his appointment, the comparable remittances were almost risibly insignificant. Whatever disagreements one may have with specific JAMB policies, the financial transformation is difficult to explain away.

And financial probity was only one part of the story. Oloyede abolished the scratch-card system that had nourished fraud and profiteering and replaced it with electronic PIN vending. His JAMB introduced the Central Admissions Processing System, or CAPS, which made admissions more transparent and gave candidates the ability to track, accept or reject admission offers electronically. CAPS also made it harder for tertiary institutions to conduct admissions completely outside JAMB’s view.

His administration strengthened biometric verification, tightened the accreditation and monitoring of CBT centres and created the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group to make the UTME more accessible to blind candidates and other people with disabilities. These were tangible institutional innovations with consequences for ordinary people.

This is where Oloyede’s record reinforces a point I have repeatedly made about Nigerian institutions. In a March 30, 2019, column titled ‘INEC as Greatest Danger to Nigeria’s Democracy’, I observed that the weakness of our institutional structures causes government agencies to take on the character and temperaments of the people who head them. Dora Akunyili stamped her energetic vigilance on NAFDAC. Yemi Kale’s analytical rigour gave the National Bureau of Statistics unusual credibility. Attahiru Jega’s personal reputation for integrity rubbed off on INEC.

Oloyede’s JAMB belongs in that tradition. His personal frugality, intolerance of financial opacity, obsessive attention to processes and concern with institutional reputation became attributes people increasingly associated with JAMB itself.

That is simultaneously reassuring and troubling. It is reassuring because it shows what a conscientious leader can do even within the severe constraints of the Nigerian public service. It is troubling because institutions should eventually acquire virtues that survive the people who temporarily lead them. A system whose integrity depends entirely on the moral fiber of one individual remains dangerously vulnerable to regression.

Oloyede’s tenure certainly had its failures. The gravest was the catastrophic 2025 UTME error that compromised the results of 379,997 candidates in 157 centres in Lagos and the Southeast. The scale of the error was horrendous.

I wrote at the time that the disaster deserved outrage while also pointing out that comparable technology failures had disrupted standardised examinations in the United States, Britain and India. JAMB investigated the complaints, acknowledged its error, apologised and organized a resit for the affected candidates. Oloyede accepted responsibility publicly.

We later learned that his first instinct when the scale of the failure became clear was to resign. People around him persuaded him that leaving in the middle of the crisis would amount to abandoning the students whose results had been compromised. He stayed to supervise the remedial process.

For me, that episode revealed as much about him as his successes did. Anyone can bask in the reflected glory of institutional success. Character becomes more legible in moments of humiliating failure. Oloyede did what Nigerian public officials almost never do: he admitted that his institution had grievously failed, apologised without hiding behind a committee and took personal responsibility for an error he did not personally cause.

Professor Segun Aina, a professor of computer engineering and systems expert, succeeded Oloyede on July 31. Aina has said that protecting JAMB’s integrity will be a central priority of his tenure. That is a promising starting point.

My hope is that he will build on Oloyede’s achievements, correct the flaws that became apparent during his tenure and institutionalise the habits of transparency and accountability so deeply that they cease to depend on who occupies the registrar’s office.

A commercial bus driver in Abia, Mr Onyekachi Ikpendu, on Friday, exhibited an uncommon trait when he returned more than N400,000 forgotten in his vehicle by a passenger.

The passenger, Mrs Nkechi John, had boarded the bus at Uzuakoli, heading for Nnenna Oti Bus Terminal, Umuahia, but alighted at Ubani Market.

John, a petty trader, unknowingly left her bag containing the cash and other personal belongings in the vehicle.

Upon realising what happened, she immediately proceeded to the terminal, where Ikpendu had secured the bag and its contents.

Narrating his experience to newsmen, the driver said he had no intention of holding back the money because he was content with earning a living through honest labour.

‘I am grateful and content with what I have, therefore, no amount of money I see now will move me to take what does not belong to me,’ he said.

According to him, returning the money to the owner was important to him because he believes that God rewards honesty and good deeds.

On her own, John expressed gratitude to the Abia bus driver for his honesty and thanked Gov. Alex Otti for constructing the terminal.

She said that the terminal made it easier for her to trace the vehicle and recover her belongings, adding that the money was meant for her business.

Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner for Transport, Dr Chimezie Ukaegbu, commended Ikpendu for displaying integrity and sincerity.

Ukaegbu described the driver’s action as a positive example worthy of emulation by other residents.

He said that the incident demonstrated a positive change in the mindset of Abia citizens.

‘Our people are showing gratitude to His Excellency, Dr Alex Otti, for his good work and exemplary leadership in the state.

‘Honestly, the mindset of the people is changing towards doing the right thing even without being compelled,’ the commissioner said.

He urged residents to continue to demonstrate honesty and integrity in their daily life, describing Ikpendu’s action as an example of responsible citizenship.

The Atiku/Amaechi Movement has urged opposition leaders to unite ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the proposed Atiku Abubakar-Rotimi Amaechi ticket has the capacity to provide Nigerians with effective leadership.

The group made the declaration while reacting to recent comments by former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, on Atiku’s 2027 presidential ambition.

In a statement issued by its National Director, Media and Communications, Hassan Sahabi Sanyinnawal, the movement said it respected Kwankwaso’s right to express his opinion but disagreed with attempts to undermine Atiku’s capacity to lead the country.

The group said the 2027 election should not be centred on personalities but on the ability of candidates to address the challenges confronting Nigerians.

‘2027 is not about personalities. It is about capacity, experience, and the urgent need to rescue Nigeria,’ the statement said.

It described Atiku as a former vice president with extensive experience in governance and a strong understanding of the Nigerian economy, saying he also possessed the national political reach required to unite the country.

The movement said Amaechi’s administrative experience would further strengthen the proposed ticket.

‘Paired with the administrative competence of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, this ticket offers Nigerians the tested leadership they deserve at this critical time,’ it said.

According to the group, insecurity, poverty and national division were too serious to be overshadowed by disagreements among political leaders.

‘While we disagree with attempts to downplay this capacity, we will not engage in rancor. The challenges facing Nigerians – insecurity, poverty, and division – are too serious for distractions,’ it added.

The movement therefore called on opposition leaders and other patriotic Nigerians to put the interest of the country above personal differences and work towards a united front in 2027.

It said its doors remained open to dialogue and collaboration with political stakeholders committed to providing Nigerians with an alternative to the current administration.

‘Our doors remain open for dialogue, collaboration, and a united front to send a clear message in 2027,’ the statement said.

The group concluded: ‘Nigerians are tired and they deserve better. We are ready to provide it.’

Nigerian writer and art critic, Akinwande Jordan, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story, ‘So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity’, published in February 2026 in the anthology A House That’s Not A Home.

The Caine Prize feat makes Jordan the only Nigerian on the shortlist, as the other four shortlisted writers were from Kenya, Cameroon, Egypt, and Zimbabwe.

‘So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity’ follows the failing marriage of two University of Lagos mathematics and literature professors and the communication and emotional undertones that complicate their lives.

The story was one of the ten short stories featured in the A House That’s Not A Home anthology, published by Naira Books, an imprint of Nigerian-based publishing firm, Naira Publisher.

Reacting to his shortlisted story on Thursday, Jordan said that the news feels palpably surreal, and that he is honoured beyond what words could qualify.

‘I feel validated, humbled, and extremely elated. I do not regard this as the apogee of my literary career, but it affirms that my attempts to learn from writers I admire have not been futile,’ he said.

The writer revealed that his shortlisted story, ‘So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity’, was inspired by Jonathan Franzen’s ‘The Corrections’, adding, ‘Though it is a very hyper-American novel, I found something compelling in its treatment of family and intellect.’

He said the story was also inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Scenes from a Marriage’, particularly its conversations and emotional inscrutability.

On the significance of the story, he said, ‘I’ll leave the significance to readers. For me, it is an ode to, or portrait of, a Nigerian marriage and a critique of academic language and its inadequacies. Sometimes, words fail us; language is insufficient; and vulnerability may be preferable to intellectual abstraction.’

According to the organisers of the £10,000-worth Caine Prize, the five shortlisted stories were carefully selected from a pool of 407 entries originating from 27 African countries, representing a significant increase from the 2024 edition.

Chair of Judges for the 2026 Caine Prize and journalist, Bola Mosuro, stated that the five shortlisted stories were selected from a wealth of talent from across the continent.

‘Hundreds of authors took us on a roller coaster ride of emotions and through varied literary landscapes. It’s been a joy and privilege choosing the Caine Prize shortlist for 2026,’ Mosuro said

Chair of the Caine Prize Board of Trustees, Ellah Wakatama OBE, commended the commitment of the publishers for producing the five short stories from across Africa, adding that this year’s publishers highlighted the growing diversity of Africa’s publishing landscape.

‘Collectively, there is a shared understanding and devotion to the importance of ensuring literature is accessible and read. In the coming weeks, we look forward to continuing the incredible work already started by the writers, editors, and publishers by spotlighting this year’s shortlist and bringing them to an even larger and eager audience,’ Wakatama said.

Editors of the anthology A House That’s Not A Home, Haliru Ali Musa and Kingsley Alumona, according to their statements on the Caine Prize official website, said that, right from the first paragraph of Jordan’s story, what struck them was the uniqueness of the language that reads like poetry and its pace that is consistent, leading to an unfamiliar territory.

‘The theme of the story, poetically captured well in its title, is a complex one that many married couples face in contemporary society. We like the way the author managed the plot and ended the story, leaving us wondering what could have come next,’ the editors’ statement reads.

Award-winning writer and critic Haliru Musa opined that Jordan’s Caine Prize shortlist confirms what most writers already suspected: that Nigerian short fiction can hold its own without performing its Nigerianness for outsiders.

Alumona noted that the anthology was the first book published by the company, which means that their investments in Nigerian writers and the literary space already have far-reaching impacts.

The other 2026 shortlisted writers of the prize are Gladwell Pamba (Kenya) for ‘The Last Shop’, published by Jahazi Press (August 2024); Melara Mvogdobo (Cameroon) for ‘Dieu Merci!’ published in Literatur.Review (August, 2025); Yasmine Zohdi (Egypt) for ‘The Absence of Stains’ published in The Republic (August 2025); and Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza (Zimbabwe) for ‘The Blue Fighter’ published in The Shallow Tales Review (June 2024).

The organisers of the prize stated that the winner of this year’s edition of the prize will be announced at a ceremony in London, United Kingdom, in October and will subsequently be celebrated and presented with the prize in their country of origin.

‘All the shortlisted stories will be published in the annual anthology alongside stories written at the Caine Prize Workshop, held this year in Tanzania,’ the organisers added.

Akinwande Jordan is a Nigerian writer and critic interested in literature, film, and the everyday textures of contemporary life. He writes with a focus on close reading, ideas, and how storytelling responds to social reality. His work has appeared in Naira Stories Magazine, The49thStreet, What Kept Me Up, Poetry Column, and Screen in Transit. He is particularly drawn to questions of form, time, and artistic responsibility, bringing a thoughtful, idea-driven approach to both literary and film criticism.

It was a moment of recognition and honour as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, emerged as one of the major highlights of the Daily Times Heroes Award, held at The Dome, Abuja.

Adeniyi was honoured with the Daily Times Heroes Award in recognition of his contributions to the transformation and development of the Nigeria Customs Service, as well as his leadership and service to the nation.

The ceremony attracted an impressive gathering of government officials, business leaders, politicians, professionals, media personalities and members of the Abuja high society, who turned out to celebrate individuals and institutions making significant contributions to national development.

Looking dapper in his uniform, Adeniyi was in high spirits as he received the prestigious award amid applause from guests and supporters. His recognition added glamour to an evening dedicated to celebrating Nigerians who have distinguished themselves through their various endeavours.

Since assuming leadership of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adeniyi has continued to attract attention for his efforts at modernising the service, strengthening revenue collection and improving trade facilitation, while also placing emphasis on professionalism and institutional reforms.

For the Customs boss, the award provided another opportunity to celebrate the men and women of the service whose work, he noted, contributes significantly to the nation’s economic development.

The event itself was a gathering of who-is-who in Abuja, with guests dressed to impress as they mingled, exchanged pleasantries and celebrated the evening’s honourees.