By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Some expired pharmaceutical products and 1.8 tonnes of Cannabis Sativa have been intercepted by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Isah Sulaiman, a Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC), disclosed that the pharmaceutical products are suspected to be pushed into the Nigerian market by relabelling them.

It was disclosed that the items were intercepted based on credible intelligence and enhanced risk profiling systems, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other relevant regulatory bodies.

In one of the major interceptions, officers of the command seized a 40-foot container numbered CAAU7569127, which was found to contain a large consignment of Cannabis Sativa, popularly referred to as Canadian Loud.

The command revealed that a total of 3,639 sachets of the illicit substance were recovered, each weighing 500 grams, for a total estimated weight of about 1,819 kilograms (1.81 tonnes). Preliminary field tests confirmed the substance as Cannabis Sativa. The drugs were concealed inside a vehicle and within bags and drums packed inside the container.

Speaking on the seizures, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba warned perpetrators to desist from criminal activities, stating that “unpatriotic importers and their collaborators who deliberately engage in smuggling, drug trafficking and the importation of expired pharmaceuticals are enemies of Nigeria’s progress.”

“We have the intelligence, the technology and the resolve to identify and apprehend them. Anyone still contemplating these criminal acts should desist immediately, because the consequences will be swift, decisive and uncompromising,” he added.

He further reiterated that Apapa Port and all Customs-controlled areas remain under constant surveillance, adding that enforcement operations will continue to be intelligence-driven while ensuring legitimate trade is not hindered.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has directed all civil servants to immediately discontinue the use of personal email accounts for official communication, as part of efforts to prevent rising cyberattacks and safeguard the flow of information.

It has mandated the adoption of approved government email platforms across the federal public service.

The directive was announced by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, during a digital transformation summit held in Abuja to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Galaxy Backbone.

According to Mrs Walson-Jack, more than 115,000 official GovMail accounts have been activated to enhance the security, professionalism, and accountability of government correspondence.

She emphasised that official government business must no longer be conducted through personal email services or informal communication channels, which often pose challenges for record-keeping and institutional accountability.

She explained that one of the primary reasons for the policy is to ensure continuity in government operations. Official records and communications, she noted, must remain within government-controlled systems even after public officers leave office, preventing the loss of critical information tied to individual accounts.

The Head of Service also revealed that the Federal Government achieved a major digital transformation milestone by successfully digitising work processes across all 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments before the end of December 2025.

Describing the accomplishment as a testament to effective leadership and institutional commitment, Mrs Walson-Jack said the milestone demonstrates the civil service’s growing readiness to embrace modern governance and technology-driven service delivery.

She further acknowledged longstanding challenges associated with manual processes, including delays, misplaced files, and bottlenecks in approval workflows.

The transition to digital systems, she said, has significantly improved document tracking, strengthened accountability mechanisms, and enhanced performance monitoring across government institutions.

The paperless civil service initiative is expected to accelerate decision-making, reduce bureaucracy, improve transparency, and ensure faster retrieval and processing of official records, ultimately creating a more efficient and responsive public service.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is seeking increased assistance from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to curb vandalism of transmission infrastructure.

The chief executive of TCN, Mr Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, told a visiting delegation from both parties at the company’s corporate headquarters in Abuja, on Wednesday, that the partnership between TCN and security agencies was growing and remained vital to protecting the national transmission network.

He said sustained inter-agency partnership, intelligence sharing, prompt response and effective law enforcement were critical to combating vandalism and protecting critical infrastructure.

Mr Abdulaziz said vandalism was a major financial and operational challenge for TCN.

He cited recent attacks that damaged six transmission towers on the Apir–Makurdi line and led to the loss of 14 spans of conductors on the Lambata 132kV line.

The TCN boss disclosed that the damage forced TCN to mobilise contractors for emergency repairs despite financial constraints, and that the vandals had struck again while repairs were ongoing.

He said TCN had been carrying out community sensitisation programmes across the country, engaging host communities, traditional rulers and security agencies to promote collective ownership and protection of transmission facilities.

He added that because the transmission network is widely spread, there was an urgent need to deploy technology-driven surveillance systems and to establish a joint monitoring centre for real-time monitoring and prompt response to threats.

On his part, Air Vice Marshal E. E. Effiom of the Nigerian Army Intelligence Programme in the office of the National Security Adviser said there was a need for innovative approaches to protect critical national assets.

He proposed a three-tier asset protection strategy he described as Delay, Awareness and Response, explaining that Delay involved physical barriers to stall intruders; Awareness meant using surveillance technology for early detection; and Response focused on apprehending and prosecuting offenders.

He added that community vigilantes remained important partners but needed timely intelligence and technological support to be effective.

Assistant Commandant General, Power, Mrs Esther Akinlade of the NSCDC, told the meeting that the Corps was committed to supporting TCN in safeguarding transmission infrastructure.

She said NSCDC commands across the federation were ready to respond to reported incidents and to work with TCN to ensure offenders were investigated and prosecuted according to the law.

TCN, in a statement, said the meeting ended with a renewed commitment by TCN, ONSA and the NSCDC to deepen institutional collaboration through improved intelligence sharing, regular stakeholder engagement and coordinated security operations.

The company said the agencies were confident that a sustained partnership would significantly reduce vandalism and help create a more reliable and resilient national grid.