The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs (Army), Major General Gold Chibuisi, has condemned the harassment and assault of civilians unlawfully wearing military uniforms, stressing that while such acts are illegal, the Nigerian Army does not support violence against offenders.

Speaking during a media chat with Defence correspondents on Saturday night in Abuja, Maj. Gen. Chibuisi said that although it is against Nigerian law for non-military personnel to wear military uniforms, soldiers must act professionally and lawfully when handling such cases.

“I’m surprised that in most briefs we give in our programmes, we always talk about this uniform issue because it keeps recurring. It’s against the law of the land. If you are not in the armed forces, please don’t use our uniform, whether you love it or not.

“But that’s one part of it. Let people stop it. The other part is what we do, what our troops do when they see somebody dressed in a military uniform. You’re supposed to just get the person to remove it, arrest, and hand it over to the police, basically for persecution. All these other things that come with it are not right. And we are doing sensitisation on them.”

He said many soldiers had been sanctioned for assaulting Nigerians who wore military camouflage.

” Those that we find and there is evidence that they did that, we always sanction them sternly. And we’ll continue to do that, ” Chibuisi said.

He appealed to citizens to avoid wearing military uniforms illegally, noting that respecting the uniform is an important part of strengthening national security and building trust between the military and the public.

Chibuisi noted that criminals increasingly exploit military uniforms to commit crimes, making it harder for civilians and security agencies to identify genuine soldiers.

“Currently, there are a lot of criminals using military garb to perpetrate crime. If people keep dressing like that, how do you differentiate between a criminal and a genuine soldier?”
He urged families and communities to help with sensitization at the home level.

“If somebody you know is not in the military comes out in the morning, and he wants to jog or drive somewhere wearing our uniform, you should tell him not to, “he said.

Chibuisi also reminded the public that the Army belongs to the people and should be seen as part of their families, not as distant or fearsome figures.

“There is no army that doesn’t want itself to be seen as working for the people. We are the Nigerian Army. The Nigerian people own us.”

As part of efforts to foster better understanding, the Army, he said, is strengthening its sensitisation campaigns both internally among troops and externally to the wider public.

“We are fine-tuning the conduct of our personnel.
“And I believe as we keep interacting, the relationship will continue to improve, ” he said.

. Intercepts over 2million pills of tramadol in Kano, Jigawa; another Saudi-bound cocaine in body cream; arrests 3 Ghanaian ladies for cross border trafficking

An 80-room new hotel in Victoria Island Lagos used as cover for distributing illicit substances has been raided by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who after hours of combing the rooms recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 417.3 kilograms worth One Billion Forty-Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira (₦1,042,500,000) only in street value.

At least, three suspects: Eze Ayitu; Ofuokwu Samuel; and Emmanuel Ameh were arrested in the course of the operation at the five-storey hotel building between Friday 25th and Saturday 26th April 2025 while two other suspects: Noble Philip and his partner Kenneth are currently at large.

Items suspected to be proceeds of illicit drug trade recovered from the premises housing The Hook Hotel also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim street, off Elsie Femi Pearse street, Victoria Island, Lagos, include: Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ); Toyota Sienna Vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ); Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE); Kia Ceranto Car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ); Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF); 74 new TV sets; 10 used TV sets; and 13 refrigerators, among others.

In another major interdiction in Jigawa state with a follow up operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence on Wednesday 23rd April seized consignments of opioids being moved from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe state through Jigawa.

The
psychoactive substances were being moved in a Toyota Sienna vehicle marked ABJ 182 NW at about 2:30am on Wednesday along Kano- Ringim road, Gumel town when anti-narcotic officers on patrol intercepted them with two suspects: Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29 arrested.

Recovered from the Sienna vehicle were 200,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin. A swift follow up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the supplier, 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad, at his residence located at Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano while additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol 250mg stacked inside a Nissan 18-seater bus marked DAL 372 XA and a room in his house were discovered and evacuated. This brings the total number of the recovered opioids to 2,001,500 pills.

Barely a week after NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books going to Saudi Arabia at a logistics company in Lagos, the operatives have again intercepted another shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547grams hidden in body cream going to the Middle East country.

The seizure was made on Wednesday 23rd April at a courier firm in Lagos.

Another consignment intercepted same day include: 1.8kg pentazocine injection and 60grams bromazepam tablets heading to Canada.

At the Seme border area of Badagry Lagos, three Ghanaian ladies were on Sunday 20th April arrested at the Gbaji check point by NDLEA operatives while attempting to smuggle combined 4.8kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis into Nigeria. The suspects arrested include: Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26.
In Kano, a 60-year-old grandma Safiya Shamsu was on Friday 25th April nabbed at Samegu area of Kumbotso LGA with 5.6kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, while another suspect Muntari Labaran, 35, was taken into custody following the seizure of 100 litres of codeine syrup from him at Yelwa area of Dala LGA.

A total of 3,814.9kg skunk was destroyed on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA, Edo state on Thursday 24th April when NDLEA operatives raided the plantations where three suspects: Samuel Samson, 26; Daniel Peter, 20; and Abel Edah, 31, were arrested.

The War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Dan-Doro Community Arabic Secondary School, Doro, Katsina; St. James Anglican School, Badariya, Kebbi; Federal Government Girls College, Tambuwal, Sokoto; and members of Oganiru age grade, Onitsha, Anambra, while the Lagos State Strategic Command of NDLEA paid WADA advocacy visit to the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, HRM Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi, among others.

While commending the officers and men of DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo and Seme Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

Operatives of the Department of State Service have uncovered and foiled an alleged plot to instigate unrest in Warri, Delta State, leading to the arrest of a foreign-based Army major, and several others allegedly involved in the plan.

According to sources familiar with the operation, the Army officer, of Itsekiri origin, was allegedly recruited by one Collins to procure weapons and ammunition intended to fuel tribal tensions in the oil-rich region.

An insider disclosed on Friday night that the DSS operatives from the Delta Command apprehended the arms supplier during a covert operation near Asaba, Delta State.

During the operation, DSS seized over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition, according to the insider.

One of the sources said, ‘’An Itsekiri man serving in a foreign army is alleged to have procured weapons and ammunition at the behest of one Collins to instigate unrest in Warri.”

‘’During a covert exchange near Asaba in Delta State, operatives from the DSS Delta Command apprehended the arms supplier and several associates, seizing over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition.

‘’Shortly thereafter, DSS agents in Lagos intercepted the Army Major as he tried to cross Nigeria’s border en route United Kingdom.

“All suspects are now in DSS custody. The DSS will carry out a full and transparent investigation and hold anyone found plotting tribal conflicts to account.’’

It was further gathered that a traditional ruler is also being discreetly investigated in connection with the matter.

Efforts to obtain official confirmation from the authorities proved abortive as of press time.

The arrests come amid tensions following the rejection of the ward delineation in Delta State by the Itsekiri Nation.

The Itsekiri people had threatened to take legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission if the delineation exercise proceeded.

On April 7, it was reported that one person was killed and houses were razed in a crisis that ensued as a result of the INEC’s delineation of constituencies.

The incident reportedly occurred on Odion Road in the Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.

In response, soldiers, police officers, and other security operatives were deployed to the area to prevent a further breakdown of law and order.