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Sanwo-Olu Personally Arrests Matchete-Wielding Traffic Criminals in Ojota
The war against criminality in Lagos State has gone a notch higher as the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, personally arrested a gang of suspected criminals, which specialises in harassing motorists and road users in traffic.
The gang of suspected criminals met their waterloo Monday morning while attempting to unleash terror on a motorist around Ojota in-bound Alausa. Help however came for the motorist as Governor Sanwo-Olu’s convoy approached the scene to rescue him from the three machete-wielding criminals who were at the time, trying to forcefully drag him out of his vehicle.
The security personnel attached to the Governor swooped on the suspects, retrieved the dangerous weapons from them and arrested the three of them.
It would be recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu while handing over security equipment purchased by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for the use of Lagos Police Command, on Thursday June 10, said there would be no hiding place for criminals in the State.
“We are determined to stabilize the security situation in Lagos State, as our own contribution towards lasting national security. Let me also use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to all criminals who are operating in Lagos State or planning to operate here; all armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists, bandits, and other criminals, we will leave no stone unturned in making this State inhospitable to you. We will find you, wherever you may be lurking and we will bring the full weight of the law on you,” Governor Sanwo-Olu declared.
The brand new crime-fighting equipment donated to the Lagos State Police Command were; 150 Double Cabin Vehicles, 30 Saloon Patrol Vehicles, 1,000 Ballistic Vests; 1,000 Ballistic Helmets, 1,000 Handheld Police Radios/Walkie-Talkies, 100 Security Patrol Bikes; two Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), four High Capacity Troop Carriers and two Anti-Riot Water Cannon Vehicles.
Governor Sanwo-Olu stated after his security personnel arrested the three machete-wielding criminals that the exercise was a warning signal to other criminal elements and prospective traffic robbers in Lagos that there is no hiding place for criminality in Lagos State.
Also on Monday, the Strike Squad of the Lagos State Taskforce carried out a massive raid on motorcycle (okada) riders at Second rainbow and Toyota Bus Stop along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
During the raid, which lasted for some hours, a total of 105 motorcycles were impounded. Prior to Monday’s raid, a total of 201 motorcycles were impounded last week.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, declined a request by the Department of State Services (DSS) to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, in his ongoing defamation trial.
Sowore is being prosecuted over comments made on social media in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The Federal government argues the statement contravenes provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as sections of the Criminal Code, and is capable of inciting public disorder.
Director of Public Prosecutions, M. B. Abubakar, told the court that Sowore’s remarks amounted to cyber harassment and criminal defamation under Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes Act and Sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code.
He insisted the activist must be held accountable for using digital platforms to malign the President.
During proceedings, counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, urged the court to issue a bench warrant, arguing that Sowore had been duly served with the charge and hearing notice but failed to appear.
He described the absence as a clear disregard for judicial authority.
According to Kehinde, allowing such conduct to go unchallenged could undermine the court’s authority — particularly in politically sensitive matters involving state institutions.
He also dismissed a letter submitted by activist Deji Adeyanju seeking an adjournment on Sowore’s behalf, describing it as an attempt to delay the case.
However, presiding Judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, declined the request. He ruled that it would be premature to issue a bench warrant because the second defendant in the matter, X Corporation (formerly Twitter), had not been properly served with the charge sheet.
The judge held that due process in serving all defendants must be completed before any coercive orders can be considered.
Counsel to X Corporation, Christabel Ndiokwelo, confirmed that although her client received the hearing notice, the formal charges had not yet been served.
Counsel to META (Facebook), Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), was also in court.
He aligned with the government’s position, describing Sowore’s absence as deliberate. He also dismissed Sowore’s claims that social media companies were collaborating with the DSS to censor him as “baseless and diversionary.”
Justice Umar adjourned the case to December 2, 2025, for proper arraignment, and directed that fresh hearing notices and charge documents be served on all parties to prevent further delays.
Following US President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), US Senator Ted Cruz has declared that the next step is to hold Nigerian officials accountable.
Cruz is championing the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill designed to protect Christians and other religious minorities from widespread persecution in Nigeria.
After the CPC designation, Trump also warned of possible military action in Nigeria if its leaders failed to protect Christians in the country.
Reacting in a post on his official X handle on Tuesday, Senator Cruz said he has been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria as a CPC and to impose sanctions on Nigerian officials responsible for religious persecution.
He thanked President Trump for the designation and for “fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria.”
According to Cruz, the next step is to hold Nigerian officials accountable, promising to publicly identify them in the coming weeks.
His post reads: “I’ve been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria a CPC and to impose sanctions on the Nigerian officials responsible.
“Thank you to President Trump for his leadership in imposing the designation, and more broadly, for fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria.
“Now we should take the next step and hold Nigerian officials accountable. I intend to be very explicit about who they are in the coming days and weeks.”
Last weekend, Trump declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged killings of Christians.
In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, Trump said Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, describing the alleged killing as a “mass slaughter.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote.
The US president added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and directed Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the matter.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected claims of Christian genocide in the country.
In September, the Federal government described claims of a systematic genocide against Christians as “false, baseless, despicable, and divisive.”
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said portraying Nigeria’s insecurity as a religious conflict was a gross misrepresentation of reality.
“Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is inaccurate and harmful.
“The federal government strongly condemns and categorically refutes recent allegations by certain international platforms and online influencers suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians,” he said.
Idris stressed that extremists have attacked citizens of all faiths, noting that Muslims, Christians, and even non-religious Nigerians have suffered alike.
Between May 2023 and February 2025, he said, security forces killed over 13,500 terrorists and rescued nearly 10,000 hostages.
He added that the recent capture of top Ansaru leaders and over 700 convictions of Boko Haram suspects reflected Nigeria’s progress in the fight against terrorism.
“These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith,” the minister stated.
The Oyo State High Court has granted the Peoples Democratic Party approval to proceed with its elective national convention scheduled for November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, the state capital.
The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to attend and monitor the exercise, Channels TV reports.
Delivering the ruling, Justice A. L. Akintola issued an interim order permitting the party to continue its convention plans without obstruction.
The decision came after an ex-parte motion filed by Folahan Adelabi against the PDP, its Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; Governor Umaru Fintiri, who heads the National Convention Organising Committee; and the INEC.
In his ruling on Monday, Justice Akintola held that the claimant presented a compelling case that warranted immediate judicial intervention.
“The motion ex-parte has merit and succeeds as prayed,” the judge ruled, granting temporary reliefs that safeguard the party’s schedule and direct all parties to allow the convention to proceed as planned.
The judge subsequently adjourned the hearing of the substantive motion for an interlocutory injunction till November 10, 2025.
The interim order, issued on November 3, 2025, was sealed by the Oyo State High Court and endorsed by its Principal Registrar, S. O. Hammed.
