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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed two Chinese supermarkets and eight cosmetics shops in Abuja for selling unregistered, expired, and banned products in violation of Nigeria’s food and drug regulations.

The enforcement exercise was carried out by the Agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in collaboration with the Federal Taskforce on Counterfeit and Substandard Medicines and Unwholesome Processed Foods.

According to a statement on Friday by Adegboyega Osiyemi, Deputy Director of PR and Protocol, the two supermarkets located on Mike Akhigbe Way and Ebitu Ukiwe Street in Jabi District, were shut after surveillance confirmed they were selling unregistered food items and products labelled solely in Chinese, without English translations as required by law.

Despite initial denials by a foreign national at the Ebitu Ukiwe Street outlet, NAFDAC officials confirmed the store was fully operational.

In a related operation, eight cosmetics shops in Wuse Market were sealed for selling banned and unregistered cosmetics, aphrodisiacs, and aesthetic medicines.

Investigations revealed that some operators had been posing as dermatologists and pharmacists, prescribing harmful body enhancement and skin-whitening products to unsuspecting consumers.

Among the confiscated items were Wenicks Capsules, Maxman Capsules, Boobs Enlargement products, Curvy Weight Gain, Skin Whitening Vitamin Gummies, Collagen, Royal Jelly, Glutathione Whitening Gummies, White Doll, Dr. Gallery Plus, Maiz Zaki Syrup, Original Herbal Yellow Fever, Sickle Cell Medicine, Dr. Nafisa Herbal Medicine, Dynewell Syrup, and White Blinks, among others. In total, products worth more than ?170 million were seized.

Acting on the directive of NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the seized goods were evacuated while the outlets were shut down.

Prof. Adeyeye stressed the Agency’s mandate to protect Nigerians from dangerous substances linked to serious health risks such as kidney damage, skin cancer, irritability, and memory loss.

‘NAFDAC welcomes legitimate trade partnerships from both Nigerians and foreign nationals, but we will not compromise on public health. Any act of selling unregistered or toxic products shall be met with strict regulatory action,’ Embugushiki quoted the DG as saying.

The Agency advised consumers to purchase only NAFDAC-approved products, urged foreign investors to register products through its offices nationwide, and encouraged the public to report suspicious outlets or goods to NAFDAC.

A former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has been interred in Benin City.

Arase was interred at a private ceremony witnessed by family members and close associates.

He was interred after a funeral mass, held at St. Paul Catholic Church.

In his homily, Reverend Father Andrew Obiyan urged the congregation to work towards making heaven after death.

Obiyan said people would want to go everywhere on earth, but refused to go to the House of God.

He expressed disappointment at the attitude of some humans towards donating to the work of God.

According to him, ‘Our own life is in heaven. We must never be distracted. We now see old age creeping into our lives daily, powerfully. It crept in to remind us of immortality. We study so hard to receive so many titles. At death, those titles mean nothing to God. The only title that means so much is a grace of battle.

‘We have the assurance that Arase will reap the fruit of baptism in the presence of the eternal King.

‘Sometimes we go everywhere, but we don’t want to go to the House of God except when we want to please people. We do not want to come to the House of God.

‘Late Arase feared and loved God. Policing is a profession with risk. We see a soaring crime rate; yet, many police officers are exemplary.

‘We give glory to God for Arase’s getting to the peak of his career. The Lord does not take from you what he cannot give.’

Governor of Bayelsa State, Duoye Diri, said the late Arase was of great service to the nation.

‘Moments like this are for us to know that one day we will lie down like this. We should be humble to serve our state and country to the best of our ability. All about him are great and good testament. From his professionalism and service to the country, his relationship with the rest of society marked his humility and spread love everywhere he went.’

Dignitaries at the event were Governor Monday Okpebholo, represented by his Deputy, Dennis Idahosa; Oba Ewuare II, represented by Chief Oseni Elamah; and Chief Uso Osaretin, the Usoh of Benin Kingdom; former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; FRSC Zone 5 Commander, Stella Orakwe; Secretary to the Police Service Commission, Onyeabuchi Nnamani; IGP Kayode Egbetokun; Senator Neda Imasuen, amongst others.

Nigeria International striker Term Moffi is expected to be in the thick of action tomorrow for Nice away to Monaco in the latest edition of the Derby de la Cote d’Azur slated for Stade Louis II on match day seven of the Ligue 1 campaign.

Last weekend, Les Monegasques dropped to fourth in the table with a 3-1 loss at Lorient, while Nice settled for a 1-1 draw with Paris FC, putting them in 12th place.

It is rarely straightforward with Monaco, and their performance last weekend was a case in point as they struggled against another newly promoted club, with discipline being an issue, spending more than half of that match a man down.

Tomorrow, they will try to avoid losing consecutive league matches for the first time all year, with their only two defeats in the campaign so far coming away from home.

Meanwhile they have a chance to win their first four Ligue 1 home fixtures this weekend for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when they wound up third in the table.

Adi Hutter’s men have often been their own worst enemy domestically in 2025-26, conceding the joint second-most penalties thus far (three).

Defensively, this team have not looked comfortable, as they are one of two teams in the French top-flight that have yet to collect a clean sheet this season, with the other being Paris FC.

At Stade Louis II, though, they always seem to come up with some magic, going unbeaten in their previous 11 Ligue 1 home outings in the Principality, with 11 of their 14 goals this season coming at home.

The striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) chapter in Ondo State have decried what they described as the deplorable state of infrastructure and gross underfunding of the state-owned institution under the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led administration.

The union members, on strike over alleged non-payment of salaries and arrears, said the continued neglect of the university had severely affected the welfare of academic staff and crippled the institution’s growth

Addressing journalists in Akure, the AAUA-ASUU Chairperson, Comrade Boluwaji Oshodi, lamented that the university had suffered ‘serious neglect’ from successive governments in the past six years, especially in terms of funding, which has resulted in a huge backlog of salary arrears and allowances running into billions of naira.

Oshodi explained that several meetings were held with the university management to resolve the issues until it became clear that the root problem was ‘inadequate funding,’ citing low monthly subventions and the non-release of capital grants by the state government.

He noted that ASUU had written several letters dated May 3 and June 10, 2025, requesting a meeting with Governor Aiyedatiwa but received no positive response.

According to Oshodi, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and lecturers’ offices have become inhabitable, with leaking roofs and collapsed structures worsening the learning environment.

‘The neglect of the university has greatly affected the welfare of academic staff of this great university. The following are currently being experienced by the University: Bad access road to the university – There are two roads linking the University to the Owo-Ikare major highway. The two roads are in deplorable conditions such that it is difficult to believe that they actually lead to a university.

‘Poor infrastructure in the university: Lecture rooms, laboratories, and library need some urgent face lift. Lecturers’ offices are the worst hit. The faculty of Arts, a two-storey building, for example, has been abandoned by staff accommodated on the second floor because the inner roofs of most offices have collapsed and are usually flooded anytime it rains The same thing is happening to the Faculty of Education. The roof is leaking, making the offices in the last floor become inhabitable anytime it rains,’ he said.

He further revealed that the state government had not released any capital grants to the university in the past seven years, despite yearly budgetary appropriations by the State House of Assembly.

The ASUU chair also revealed that since the withdrawal of TETfund intervention by the immediate past administration, the institution had witnessed a severe infrastructural decline.

He noted that the current monthly subvention of N223,125,000 was far below the N555-N600 million required for salaries and overheads.

‘Non-release of capital grants: It may amaze you to know that the state government has not released a Kobo as capital grant to the University for the past seven years. The interesting thing is that the Ondo State House of Assembly appropriates capital grants for the university on a yearly basis. The question is: what happens to this money every year?

‘Before now, the university had depended on TETfund intervention for infrastructural development. However, since TETfund intervention was taken away from the University by the state government during the last dispensation, the university has experienced serious decay in infrastructural facilities.

‘Poor funding/monthly subvention: Currently, the monthly subvention to the University is two hundred and twenty three million, one hundred and twenty five thousand Naira (223, 125, 000.), while the salary and overhead cost is between five hundred and fifty five million and six hundred million Naira (555, 600, 000.).’

Oshodi added that although the government once invited the university management led by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Olugbenga Ige for a meeting where it was agreed that a verification team from the Ministry of Finance would visit the school by July 2025.

However, he noted that no such visit had taken place.

‘After over two months of waiting, the state government has neither sent the verification team nor invited the union for any further talks. As of today, October 3, 2025, our members are being owed two months’ salary (August and September 2025), in addition to huge outstanding arrears,’ he said.

He listed the outstanding liabilities as Excess workload arrears (2009-2013: 70%, 2014-2020: 100%) – Over ?4.5bn, promotion/annual increment arrears (2021/2022)- N65m, promotion/annual increment arrears (2022/2023)-N200m outstanding minimum wage arrears (2014)-N276,664,779.96, Outstanding minimum wage arrears (2019)- N1,939,346,017.32, third-party deductions (March-August 2025)- over N24m, cooperative deductions-NOver N102,142,742.10

Oshodi, therefore, called on Governor Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene and salvage the institution from what he described as ‘looming total collapse.’

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Education in the state, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, told the Nation that the issues raised by the striking lecturers were being addressed.

Prof. Ajibefun, who pleaded with the ASUU members to exercise patience with the government, added that the Governor Aiyedatiwa led administration has been investing much in the education in the state.

‘We shall be meeting the lecturers and union leaders soon to address this issues. One thing is that the governor is a lover of education and he is not relenting in investing in the sector. So, all their grievances would be resolved soon,’ he said.

Life, a ‘transparent pearl’ (Shan Sa), is often recognized for its fleeting nature: ‘a flash of a firefly in the night’ and ‘the little shadow which runs across the grass’ (Crowfoot). Yet, Henry Longfellow offers a contrasting wisdom in age, noting: ‘as the evening twilight fades away, the sky is filled with stars, invisible by day’. This layered perspective, balancing life’s brevity with its eventual wisdom, echoes the Psalmist’s essential prayer: ‘Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom’.

The passing of Mrs. Josephine Olajumoke Ale (née Ogidi) on August 7, 2025, isn’t just a loss for her family; it’s a moment to reflect on what dedicated public service truly looks like and the extraordinary foundation it built for a generation. Ale’s life serves as a powerful argument for recognizing and reinvesting in the backbone of our nation: the committed, frontline civil servant.

Born on October 2, 1945, Ale dedicated her life to a path of profound community impact. After completing her vocational nursing and midwifery training in 1968, she embarked on a remarkable career that spanned medical institutions across the trenches of Kwara, Ondo, and Ekiti States. Through her tireless commitment, she personified the highest ideal of the Nigerian Matron before her exit in 2008, bringing skilled and compassionate care to even the most underserved towns.

Ale’s service spoke to a critical, forgotten truth: the quality of our public health system hinges not just on policy, but on personnel. Her ‘healing hands and compassionate spirit’ comforted countless lives in Labour wards and communities, demonstrating that local commitment was irreplaceable. In an era where brain-drain cripples our hospitals, we must re-examine how we support, incentivize, and celebrate those who choose to stay and serve where the need is greatest.

Beyond her professional life, Ale’s family life offers a compelling blueprint for successful parenting, a model that should be taught and promoted across Nigeria. Widow of the late Matthew Fadahunsi Ale, she was not just a supportive wife but a force of nature in guiding her children to ‘enviable status in their diverse endeavours’. This wasn’t accidental! The success was rooted in intentional, disciplined and consistent nurturing.

Olajumoke Ale was known by many names: Mama Ale, Aunty Jose, Eye Olu, Mama Nurse, Mama Senior, each reflecting a different facet of her remarkable personality.

While on this earth, the signature of life – defined by strength, courage, determination, perseverance, and inspiration – was vividly expressed in Ale’s journey, making her life the truest embodiment of purposeful existence. The fact that Eye Olu, even in retirement, did not experience the ‘old age poverty or penury associated with retirees in Nigeria’ proved that parental sacrifice and discipline, not just wealth, are the keys to intergenerational success.

A woman of powerful integrity, Ale was one of the most talented brains of her generation. She was resolute, committed, always going out on her own terms. Her life was marked by immense courage and a deep sense of patriotism. Mama Senior lived a simple, humble and frugal existence. Her sharp wit, mental fortitude, and undeniable connection with the people were a huge catalyst in setting her apart.

Mama Ale never lost her principles. She was never rancorous but loved her family. She transformed herself and her community in terms of moral investments. In reflecting on her life, we are reminded that the impact we have on others can transcend our lifetime, inspiring future generations to live with purpose and compassion.

Ale’s life encompassed an accommodating spirit, which allowed her to embrace and stoically endure the inevitable twists and turns of life with a Christian disposition. Mama Nurse needed no grand political stage nor towering monuments; her legacy was quietly but profoundly etched into the hearts she healed and the lives she elevated.

The story of her life is also a strong, silent argument against cynicism and resignation. It is a powerful reminder that the true wealth of a nation lies in the character of its people and the selfless work of its servants. Her death also teaches us salient lessons about our transient nature, a fundamental truth that we must confront without fear or despair.

C.S. Lewis was right: ‘When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure’. Ale’s memory will forever be a treasure, inspiring the living to live lives of purpose, service and love.

Her mortal remains were laid to rest in Igogo-Ekiti yesterday, October 3, 2025.

Olajumoke Ale is survived by her children: Mrs. Funke Fashesin, Professor Omonike Ogbole, Dr. Olubunmi Ade-Ojo, Mr. Deji Ale, Mr. Kunle Ale, Mrs. Bosede Babatunde, and Mr. Gbenga Ale.

She is also survived by her sons-in-law: Mr. Oludiran Fashesin, mni; Professor Godwin Ogbole; and Professor Idowu Ade-Ojo; and her daughters-in-law: Dr. (Mrs.) Labake Ale, Mrs. Temitope Ale, and Mrs. Ejiro Ale. She was also blessed with many grandchildren.

Aunty Jose was predeceased by her son-in-law, Mr. Olumide Babatunde.

?May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant rest to Mrs. Josephine Olajumoke Ale’s soul and comfort her family!

The nation’s welding ecosystem may be on a rebound with the strategic alliance between key stakeholders like the Petroleum Training Institute, Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW) and The Welding Federation (TWF).

Speaking at the maiden edition of the National Welding Road Show delivered online, Engr Bijimi Gaiya, Chairman, NIW CTC, shared experiences and challenges in his welding career from 1978 till date.

He highlighted salient points on how to build and sustain momentum in welding as a career. He expressed delight on the passion shown by students to learn more, and explained that the National Welding Road show is a first under NIW’s Rebuild, Reclaim, and Rebrand programme.

The National Welding Road show organised by the Nigerian Institute of Welding in collaboration with The Welding Federation of Africa engaged PTI welding community in an experience sharing session of some of the unique complements of TWF Welder training qualification syllabus which puts an African content welder step ahead in staying relevant and competitive.

The road show featured a no hold bar questions session with leading professionals in Nigeria’s welding industry on viable career paths, technical challenges in welding manipulations, and access to welder qualification and certifications.

Also Engr Grace Erhimona, former Director of PTI and Vice Chairman of NIW CTC, expressed her satisfaction with PTI in setting the pace again for other institutions to follow.

She attributed PTI leading status as being the offshoot of several capacity upgrade support from various intervention agencies such Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and a host of others.

She called the attention of PTDF, NDDC and NCDMB on the gaps which organising this road show had revealed in PTI facility adequacy in such special process techniques as gouging, buttering, hard facing and a host of others.

Responding to questions from our correspondence, Ayo Adeniyi, Executive Director of TWF, expressed satisfaction on the turnout and outcome of the first stop of the roadshow.

He thanked the management of PTI under the leadership of Engr. Dr. Samuel Onoji, Chief Executive Officer for consistently demonstrating vision and foresightedness in issues of national importance.

He also thanked Dr Jimba Bankole, former Director of PTI, Engr Grace Erhimona former Director of PTI, Engr Jerome Peter, Engr David Adidi of Delta State Polytechnic, Eddy Omonigho of the department of welding, Okpeh Onovughe, Otus Utuaghono and, Kingsley Oboh for sacrifices made to ensure the road show’s success.

The Nigeria Police Force has reacted to reports of a Federal High Court order directing it to maintain the status quo in the ongoing case concerning the enforcement of tinted glass permits, stating that it has not yet been officially served with the order.

Responding to a social media post by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who shared a copy of the order on X (formerly Twitter), the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, clarified that the police had not received formal notification of the court’s directive.

Hundeyin wrote: ‘While we have not been officially served the court order you’re making reference to, let me, in the meantime, show point no. 8 (of the same order) since you left that part out and focused only on point no. 6. Nigerians deserve a complete picture, not a skewed one.’

Point 8 of the order reads: ‘Meanwhile, Reliefs 1, 2 and 3 are hereby refused.’

The reliefs referred to are those sought by the applicant, John Aikpokpo-Martins, on behalf of tinted glass car owners in Nigeria, in Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025 – John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Inspector General of Police and Nigeria Police Force. They include:

‘An order of interim injunction restraining the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, their officers, men, agents, privies and/or contractors from implementing or enforcing the new tinted glass permit policy set to commence on October 6, 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.’

‘An order of interim injunction restraining the defendants from stopping, harassing, arresting, detaining, impounding vehicles or extorting motorists in purported enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.’

‘An order of interim injunction restraining the defendants from using the Parkway Projects account (No. 4001017918) to collect any fees for the renewal of tinted glass permits or to conduct any government business pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.’

Effiong had earlier posted excerpts of the court order, which restrained the police from taking further action on the enforcement of tinted glass regulations pending the determination of the case.

In the ruling, the Federal High Court sitting in Warri directed the police to maintain the status quo and respect ongoing judicial proceedings.

Confirming the development, lead counsel in the matter, Kunle Edun, SAN, described the order as ‘a major step in upholding the rule of law and protecting the rights of citizens while the substantive issues are yet to be decided.’

No fewer than 100 registered Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in Jigawa State have been consolidated under the Non-State Actors platform of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to strengthen advocacy on inclusion, transparency and openness in government of state and local councils.

The move followed a general meeting convened by the newly formed OGP leadership in the state, led by Comrade Isah Mustapha, with the aim of repositioning the coalition and activating the third phase of the state’s OGP Action Plan.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Comrade Mustapha, who serves as the Non-State Actors co-chair, said the organisations agreed to collaborate around four key thematic areas: Fiscal Transparency and Accountability, Access to Justice, Climate Change, and Anti-Corruption.

‘The meeting was held in line with OGP’s principles of inclusion and transparency. We have begun the process of developing Jigawa State Action Plan III,’ he said.

According to him, invitations were sent via Google forms across various media platforms for interested organisations to register and select their preferred thematic areas.

‘As you can see, representatives of CSOs, CBOs, the private sector and the media are all here. Every organisation has equal opportunity to join, lead and contribute to the action plan. Since the OGP Step II leadership has ceased to exist, it became necessary to constitute a new and transparent leadership,’ he explained.

Comrade Mustapha said the platform has adopted an open-door policy to encourage participation, noting that registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the state or even a local government body is sufficient for membership.

He added that sensitisation sessions have been held on the principles and concepts of OGP at national and sub-national levels to help organisations align their interests with the agreed thematic areas.

‘The current leadership will not allow any interference. Members will abide by acceptable procedures and guidelines to form their leadership structures within the thematic areas,’ he stressed.

He revealed that while some thematic areas have one commitment, others may have two, depending on identified priorities.

‘Our plan is to revive Jigawa OGP and make it competitive at the international level. We also intend to establish strong OGP structures across the 27 local government councils to promote accountability, transparency and openness in governance,’ he stated.

Comrade Mustapha emphasised the need to monitor local government spending, contract awards and project implementation in light of financial autonomy at that tier of government.

He appealed to members for continued cooperation to position Jigawa as a model of inclusive governance and transparency in Nigeria and beyond under OGP Step III.

The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has been rated as the most transparent public institution in Nigeria. This is according to the 2025 Transparency and Integrity Index (TII).

In the report unveiled in Abuja by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI), NOSDRA led all 575 assessed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with a score of 78.84 per cent.

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission came second with 78.21 per cent, while the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission scored 78.13 per cent to place the third most transparent agency.

However, most federal institutions scored poorly in the report, with many falling below the 50 per cent benchmark for average on openness, accountability, and compliance with statutory disclosure requirements.

While presenting the report, the Executive Director of the Centre, Umar Yakubu, noted that public institutions were statutorily required under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007), the Freedom of Information Act (2011), and the Public Procurement Act (2007) to publish information such as budgets, procurement details, recruitment policies, audit reports, and anti-corruption frameworks.

According to the Centre, the index was conceived to strengthen integrity mechanisms in Nigeria’s public sector by assessing whether MDAs publish vital information on their websites and portals as required by law.

The assessment focused on five key variables, namely, financial transparency, procurement, human resources and inclusion, control of corruption, and citizen engagement, with each attracting 20 per cent.

A review of the report showed that out of 575 public institutions assessed, only six crossed the 50 per cent average threshold.

Apart from the earlier listed agencies, Development Bank of Nigeria (62.60 per cent), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (54.12 per cent) and Bank of Industry (51.29 per cent) were ranked 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

Conversely, over 400 institutions scored within the range of 36 and 10 per cent, with no evidence of publishing basic governance information online.

More alarming was that about 100 institutions recorded below 10, while nine institutions scored zero.

This means that they failed to publish any of the required information on budgets, procurement, staffing, or anti-corruption policies.

Many of these included federal colleges, polytechnics, teaching hospitals, and river basin authorities.

For instance, Nigerian Coal Corporation, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, Federal Medical Centre Katsina, Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, Baga, Hadrian-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, and Metallurgical Training Institute Onitsha scored zero in the ranking.

Also, key ministries fared poorly. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development were graded zero.

The Ministry of Power (21.0 per cent), the Ministry of Works and Housing (14.50 per cent), Ministry of Health (14.50 per cent), and Ministry of Defence (14.50 per cent) ranked low, which further highlighted persistent opacity in sectors critical to Nigeria’s development.

The Imo State Government has demolished a notorious hideout at Control Fly-Over, Owerri, which security reports confirmed was being used by bandits as a base of operations.

The flyover was commissioned by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, but was taken over by hoodlums who converted it to a parking bay, smoking joints and a brothel.

However, the government, just a few hours after issuing a public notice, moved swiftly to safeguard the landmark project and guarantee the safety of commuters and residents around the strategic gateway.

The demolition exercise was carried out by the Office of the Governor on Monitoring and Compliance, headed by Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, in collaboration with security agencies.

According to intelligence, the location, which also operated as a brothel, had long served as a meeting point for armed criminals who planned kidnappings, robberies, and other violent crimes from the spot.

During the operation, a large cache of arms and dangerous weapons were recovered by security operatives and handed over to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution. Several suspects were also arrested for further questioning.

In a related enforcement, commercial vehicles that attempted to convert the under-bridge of the newly commissioned Control-Assumpta Fly-Over into illegal loading bays were impounded.

The state government announced that the operators involved will face immediate prosecution, stressing that no misuse of critical infrastructure will be tolerated.

Residents who gathered at the scene welcomed the demolition and arrests, describing the measures as timely and in line with the governor’s resolve to match infrastructure development with stronger security.

Many said the site had been a persistent threat to safety in the area and praised Governor Hope Uzodimma for not only building but also securing Owerri for the people.

Speaking after the operation, Nze Nwaneri emphasised that the government would not allow criminal elements or illegal activities to undermine public safety. ‘The directive of His Excellency is clear: there must be no safe haven for criminals or lawbreakers in this state. Wherever they are identified, we will act immediately,’ he said.

The government pledged to sustain similar operations across the state until all identified criminal hideouts and illegal practices are eliminated, he said.