The Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) is partnering with the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) as official media partner, to host the 2025 edition of the Nigerian Children National Crime Awareness Month.

According to a statement signed by POCACOV National Director, Citizens Engagement, Olafemi George, the month-long event scheduled to kick off on November 11 is themed “We are the Children of Nigeria — Our Lives Matter”, and is expected to run through the 28th with education oriented and Awareness activities lined up to give the children of Nigeria a solid voice in the scheme of affairs.

Narrating the rationale behind the Awareness Month, the statement noted that “There are moments in history when a nation must pause, look into the eyes of its children, and decide what kind of future it wants to protect. For Nigeria, that moment has come.

“Across our communities, schools, and homes, the quiet cry of our children grows louder each day — a plea to be seen, to be heard, and to be saved from the rising shadows of crime, drug abuse, cultism, and moral decay.

“This November, under the theme “Our Lives Matter,” Nigerian children will stand — not as spectators, but as voices of hope — to lead the first-ever National Children Crime Awareness Month. This movement is not a ceremony; it is a national rebirth; and for the first time in our history, the official flag-off will be conducted by Nigerian children themselves, from classrooms and school grounds across all 36 states of the federation. Each child will rise and declare to the nation and the world: “We are the children of Nigeria — our lives matter.” This is not just a campaign. It is a cry for redemption, a call to conscience.”

Acknowledging the frontline afforts NAOSNP has played in the safety and security of the Nigerian public, the statement stressed that “your Association has always stood as the conscience of our nation. Today, we ask you to once again stand on the side of truth and legacy and give these children a voice and a face through your platform as our Official Media Support Partner.

“Your partnership will amplify this unprecedented movement and remind the world that Nigeria has not lost her future — that her sons and daughters still believe in peace, in God, and in the power of collective goodness.”

The statement informed of the activities lined up for the period as follows:

November 11 – National Prayer and Flag-off by all Nigerian Children in their respecive Schools.

November 12 – 2-Km National Awareness Walk by all Nigerian children in their school uniforms.

November 17 – National Letter-Writing Day by Nigerian children, theme: ‘Letter To The President’.

November 20 – National Drawing Day by Nigerian children, theme: ‘Face of Motherhood’.

November 28 – Showing of the National Crime Awareness official Film across all Schools in Nigeria.

POCACOV and NAOSNP has maintained a healthy relationship in the fight against crime and criminality, and this opportunity is another platform to further serve the Nigerian National interest.

Residents of Faruruwa community in Shanono LGA of Kano State have appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Defence to set up a military formation in their area.

The Chairman of the community, Yahaya Umar Bagobiri stated this in an interview with Daily Sun, insisting that the community was still under threat of attacks by the bandits.

He remarked that the bandits had been sending text messages to the villagers to the effect that they would soon attack the area in revenge for the losses they suffered during a recent fight with the Joint Task Force.

“They are preparing everyday to return to our community. What they are telling us is that they are coming, that we should be ready and we told them that we are ready, that our soldiers are ready and they would meet them there when they come,” he said.

Bagobiri admitted that additional security personnel have been deployed to their community in recent times, but regretted that in view of the gravity of the threats, the number of soldiers on ground may not be enough to discourage the bandits from attacking them. He argued that only five days ago, the same bandits or their allies still found a way to the community and kidnapped nine victims, for which they were demanding for a ransom of N25 million.

“The solders on the ground are not enough, even the GOC Kaduna, was there a few days ago to see things for himself and he saw that we needed more soldiers to be stationed there” he stated.

On what might be attracting the bandits to the community, he explained that the area is a border town to Katsina State, in addition to the fact that there is the presence of a river in the area, which encourages the breeding of large numbers of cows around that axis.

He added that the bandits were initially attracted to the axis because of the cows that they steal, but added that in the recent years, they have resorted to abduction for money and killing of the members of the community and its environs.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The agency, in a statement signed on Sunday by its spokesperson Femi Babafemi, said the 40-year-old suspect was apprehended on Thursday, November 6, 2025, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

Azeez’s arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by a special NDLEA operations unit.

The suspect, who previously fled the United Kingdom after jumping bail for drug-related offences, had returned to Nigeria to establish a massive clandestine laboratory for producing synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Colorado, in Lekki, Lagos.

At about 6:30 a.m., NDLEA officers intercepted Azeez at the airport departure hall and immediately took him into custody.

He was later taken to his hideout at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, where a fully operational illicit drug production facility was uncovered. Another suspect, Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43, was also arrested at the site.

Inside the building, operatives from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring (DFCM) dismantled laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and finished products, totaling 148.3 kilograms.

The agency described this as one of the largest synthetic drug seizures in recent years.

In a separate operation on Friday, November 7, NDLEA, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, recovered 105.5 kg of “Molly” and 500 grams of methamphetamine at the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos.

The contraband was concealed for local distribution.

Significant interceptions were also made in other states. In Niger State, operatives seized 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72 kg of skunk cannabis from a Volvo truck driven by Ibrahim Mohammed, 35.

In Taraba State, Aliyu Samaila, 25, was arrested transporting 34,520 tramadol capsules in a Toyota Corolla, reportedly destined for Cameroon. Another suspect, Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, was apprehended with 15,020 tramadol capsules in Ardo Kola Local Government Area.

In Kogi State, NDLEA seized 7.6 kg of “Loud,” a potent cannabis strain, on the Okene–Lokoja highway. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of Chukwunonso Anieze, 40, the owner of the consignment. Additionally, 175,000 pills of opioids were recovered from another shipment the same day.

At the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate, three suspects — Olayide Oyidiran, 39; Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, 28; and Opeyemi Tijjani, 39 — were caught transporting 769 kg of skunk from Lagos to Kano via Owo, Ondo State, highlighting the agency’s crackdown on inter-state trafficking networks.

In Edo State, a 73-year-old man, James Ugbedo, was caught tending a cannabis plantation at Igbeshi Forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East LGA. About 1,459.75 kg of cannabis was destroyed, and 5.6 kg was recovered for evidence.

In Bayelsa State, a 70-year-old woman, Comfort Odudu, was arrested in Onopa, Yenagoa, with 5 kg of skunk.

The NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative continued nationwide, with sensitization campaigns targeting students, communities, and transport unions.

Beneficiaries included Transfiguration Seminary Secondary School in Abakaliki, Immanuel College High School in Ibadan, Government Girls Secondary School in Ilelah, and NURTW members in Birnin Kebbi.

Commending his officers, NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) praised the successful dismantling of the Lekki lab and other operations.

He described the actions as part of a sustained national offensive against drug cartels preying on vulnerable citizens.

“The dismantling of yet another clandestine laboratory for Colorado and other dangerous substances, and the arrest of the kingpin behind it in Lekki, barely a week after a similar operation in Ajao Estate, shows our commitment to dismantling these cartels. The NDLEA, supported by local and international partners, will continue to hunt these merchants of death and bring them to justice,” Marwa said.