The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has destroyed more than 329,865 kilogrammes of illicit drugs valued at ₦301 billion in Lagos.   The drugs were incinerated on Monday, August 17, at Navy Town in the Ojo area of the state in a court-ordered exercise covering uncontested concluded cases and abandoned seizures. According to Channels Television, the destroyed substances included cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ephedrine, khat leaves and opioids such as tramadol and codeine syrup. Several varieties of cannabis, including Canadian Loud and skunk, were also destroyed. Seizures made across Lagos The NDLEA said the drugs were intercepted during operations carried out between April 2025 and May 2026. The agency’s Lagos Strategic Command accounted for 246,864.535kg, while specialised units operating across the state intercepted an additional 83,001.05kg. Those units included the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Tincan and Apapa Strategic Commands, the Marine Command and a Special Operations Unit. Speaking at the incineration site, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the destruction demonstrated the agency’s determination to disrupt drug trafficking networks. He warned drug barons and financiers that law enforcement agencies would continue to pursue them regardless of where they operated. Marwa also said drug interceptions help protect communities from addiction and impaired driving while reducing potential healthcare costs and disrupting criminal networks. Drugs linked to violent crime Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, described the destruction as a reminder of the scale of the threat posed by illicit drugs. The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, linked the illicit drug trade to the activities of violent non-state actors. He said the destruction deprived drug dealers of investments worth billions of naira and denied violent groups resources that could support their activities. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, represented by the Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Mustapha, also pledged continued military support for the NDLEA’s anti-drug operations.

The Nigeria Customs Service has handed over 399 seized rifles and assorted firearm components to the Office of the National Security Adviser, following the completion of an inventory and examination of the weapons intercepted at the Tincan Island Port Command.   Customs Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi said the seizure included 399 fully assembled Jojef firearms, as well as 89 frames, 16 heat shields, 10 trigger pins, three pistons, 25 locking lugs, 80 charging handles, 39 pistol-grip screws, 34 springs, 57 trigger groups, 66 foregrip latches, 45 foregrips or handguards, four pistol grips and five barrels. The weapons were handed over to the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons under the Office of the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu. Adeniyi warned that criminal networks could attempt to exploit Nigeria’s borders, ports and airports to move prohibited items ahead of the country’s next general elections. > “We are about entering a major election cycle, and we know that by this period, men of the underworld will want to use our borders, our ports, our airports to bring in items like this,” Adeniyi said. He said Customs would intensify surveillance and enforcement operations to prevent the movement of illegal arms and other prohibited items. The Customs chief also reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to intelligence-led enforcement and stronger collaboration with security agencies to identify and dismantle arms-trafficking networks. Two suspects arrested during the preliminary investigation have also been handed over to the Office of the NSA for further action.

The European Commission has allocated €2.3 million in emergency humanitarian funding to Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad to support efforts to contain ongoing cholera outbreaks.   The funding, announced on Monday, is aimed at strengthening outbreak response, improving access to safe water and sanitation, and supporting affected communities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 61,000 cholera cases were reported across the African Region in the first five months of 2026. Nigeria gets €1.5m Nigeria will receive the largest share of the funding, with €1.5 million earmarked for the country’s cholera response. The money will be used to increase the number of intervention teams, provide essential supplies including cholera kits, and strengthen water, sanitation and hygiene measures. The EU said the support will also cover the treatment of public water points and household water, while helping intensify epidemiological surveillance in hard-to-reach areas. It will further support case management, risk communication and community sensitisation. The development comes as several Nigerian states continue to respond to rising cholera cases. In Plateau State, authorities recently intensified containment measures after reporting 537 cases and 17 deaths. Other countries receive funding Cameroon will receive €100,000 to support outbreak containment and case management, including additional healthcare personnel, medicines, cholera treatment units and oral rehydration points in affected communities. The Central African Republic will receive €500,000 to scale up case management and vaccination, alongside water, sanitation and hygiene interventions. The funding will also strengthen surveillance, community engagement and safe burials. Chad will receive €200,000 to help break the chain of cholera transmission through improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as community support for surveillance and case management. The EU Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said cholera remains a preventable and treatable disease but continues to threaten communities without access to safe water and healthcare. The funding, she said, would enable humanitarian partners to respond quickly, contain outbreaks and protect vulnerable communities. Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria and is commonly transmitted through contaminated food or water. Severe infections can cause rapid dehydration and shock.

More than 200 professors and other academic staff have reportedly resigned from Kaduna State University over poor working conditions and the failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.   The Academic Staff Union of Universities, KASU chapter, issued a two-week ultimatum to the university management and other relevant authorities to begin full implementation and domestication of the agreement. According to the ASUU-KASU chairman, Abubakar Abdullahi, the agreement took effect in January 2026 but had yet to be implemented at the institution. Abdullahi disclosed this on Monday at a press conference at the union’s secretariat in Kaduna, according to PUNCH Newspapers, the originating news source. He said the union had repeatedly written to the university management, Governing Council, Visitor and Kaduna State Government, urging them to implement the agreement in accordance with the law establishing the university. The union chairman said KASU had fallen behind federal and several state universities, many of which had either implemented the agreement or announced timelines for implementation, including the payment of outstanding arrears. He warned that continued delays could lead to the accumulation of salary arrears dating back to January 2026. ASUU-KASU attributed the departure of experienced academic staff, including professors and lecturers, to poor conditions of service, warning that replacing the lost personnel could take years. The union said its Congress, at a meeting on August 12, resolved to declare an industrial dispute and embark on a “total, comprehensive and indefinite strike”, in line with a resolution reached by ASUU’s National Executive Council after its meeting at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9. The two-week ultimatum is intended to give the authorities time to address the issues before industrial action is commenced. Among the other unresolved issues raised by the union are university autonomy, excessive workload, promotion arrears, death benefits, group life insurance, the 25 and 35 per cent wage awards, and pension remittances. ASUU-KASU urged the university management and other relevant authorities to urgently resolve the outstanding issues to prevent industrial action and maintain stability at the institution. The union also appealed to parents, stakeholders and other Nigerians to intervene to help avert the threatened strike.