The Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, on Thursday confirmed the withdrawal of 11,566 officers previously assigned to Very Important Personalities (VIPs), following a presidential directive mandating the reallocation of police resources.

Egbetokun announced the development during a meeting with senior police officers in Abuja, noting that the instruction from the Presidency empowers him to implement the recall of officers without interference.

He stated that no VIP would challenge the withdrawal of their security personnel since the order originated directly from the President.

The IGP urged police officers to maintain professionalism and dedication to national security, emphasising the need for continuous efforts to curb criminal activities across the country.

He added that the police remain committed to addressing emerging security challenges and are collaborating with other security agencies to strengthen safety nationwide.

More to come…

Bandits have carried out another violent assault in the Palaita community of Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting 24 people, including pregnant women, from a rice farm.

According to a source in the community, the attackers arrived at about 2:00pm on Wednesday while residents were harvesting their crops.

Despite Palaita being only five kilometres from a military base in Erena, the bandits reportedly fled with the victims before security forces could intervene.

Earlier the same day, a separate group of armed men invaded the Kakuru community, also in Erena Ward, where they assaulted a blind resident and severed his right hand after taking a mobile phone from him.

The attackers, who arrived around 8:00am, met only the visually impaired man at home, as other residents had already gone to their farms.

The victim reportedly informed the attackers that the phone belonged to a neighbour who was on the farm, prompting the bandits to seize the device and amputate his right hand in anger.

He is currently receiving first aid treatment at a patent medicine shop in the Kuduru community.

The spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incidents and said efforts were underway to rescue those abducted.

“On November 26, 2025, at about 8pm, a report was received indicating that suspected armed men abducted about ten persons from Angwan-Kawo and Kuchipa villages of Shiroro Local Government Area,” Abiodun said. “Effort is being made to rescue the victims.”

The latest incident comes less than a week after gunmen abducted more than 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, on Friday.

The attack occurred amid a worsening national security crisis, with several northern states experiencing persistent kidnappings linked to ransom demands.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested six suspected members of a drug cartel after uncovering illicit substances valued at N6.7bn inside a warehouse located in the Isolo area of Lagos State.

According to the NDLEA, the operation resulted in the arrest of a drug baron, Onyekachi Nwanagu, alongside five members of his network, after operatives raided a secret warehouse in a residential estate where the drugs were stored.

The arrests were detailed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.

The statement explained that the operation followed “credible intelligence” indicating that the cartel was preparing to distribute over 7.2 million pills of tramadol 225mg and 526,200 bottles (52.6 million ml) of codeine syrup stored at a residential compound located at 23 Sunny Billa East Street, Bucknor, Isheri, in Isolo.

Babafemi said officers from the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit conducted a coordinated raid between November 19 and 20, 2025, to dismantle the syndicate and disrupt its distribution plans ahead of the festive season.

He added that two members of the cartel, identified as Egbo Innocent Udalor and Chukwe Emmanuel, were first intercepted and arrested at Apple Junction, FESTAC, on November 19 while transporting 300 cartons of opioids in a truck.

A follow-up operation at the warehouse the following day led to the arrest of Nwanagu and three other members of the gang: Nwoye Sunday Ali, Nnacho Ogochukwu, and Oraghalia Chukwuebuka Philip.

The agency reported that a combined total of 7,272,000 pills of tramadol 225mg worth N3.96bn and 53 million ml of codeine syrup valued at over N2.76bn were recovered, with the seized consignment moved out of the estate in 11 trucks to the NDLEA’s central exhibit facility in Lagos.

Commending the operatives involved in the raid, Babafemi said the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the officers’ professionalism, describing the seizure as a major victory against drug cartels “preying on Nigeria’s youth.”

Marwa said, “This is not just an arrest; it is a clear and unambiguous statement,” noting that the interception of such a huge quantity of illicit drugs prevented substances capable of fuelling crime, addiction, and insecurity from reaching communities. He said it also reaffirmed the agency’s resolve to execute the mandate given by President Bola Tinubu.

Reiterating the NDLEA’s focus on dismantling drug kingpins and financiers, Marwa added, “The days when drug barons thought they were untouchable are over,” stressing that the arrests demonstrated that “the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with every merchant of death.”

The agency noted that a separate NDLEA operation on November 15 resulted in the arrest of another wanted “drug baron”, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, after weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering.