The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has made alarming discoveries in its ongoing enforcement operation at the Idumota open drug market in Lagos.

The agency uncovered unregistered narcotics, counterfeit GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) medicines, and vaccines improperly stored, with some shockingly found in toilets.

This was revealed in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. The statement reads, “In the ongoing enforcement operation at the Idumota open drug market, NAFDAC has uncovered more alarming products, including unregistered narcotics, counterfeit GSK medicines, and vaccines stored in toilets.

“During an operation on Tuesday, officials also seized expired USAID-donated condoms, which had been repackaged and sold under the name “Kiss Condom.”

The statement added, “More from the Idumota enforcement exercise, NAFDAC officials have seized, “Banned drugs such as Analgin, Vaccines meant for cold chain storage, Oxytocin for maternal health, improperly stored outside the cold chain and donated medical products.”

NAFDAC has vowed to continue its crackdown on counterfeit and substandard medicines, emphasising the grave health risks posed by these illicit products. The enforcement operation remains ongoing as officials work to dismantle illegal drug networks and ensure compliance with safety regulations

The Osun State Police Command and the state Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps may not be deploying operatives for today’s local government election, Saturday PUNCH has learnt.

While the two security organisations did not officially confirm or deny their participation in the poll, top sources said security agencies were not directed to participate in the election.

A senior police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We have not been directed to participate in the poll. You know the position of the Federal Government through what the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) said.

“The police and other security agents will be in town to ensure security but they are not told to participate in the election. But no one will speak to you about it here. The decision about it was made in Abuja.

“If you listen to IG’s remarks about the Osun local government crises when he spoke in Abuja on Thursday, you will have a better idea about the position of the police regarding the election.”

But the Osun Amotekun Corps said its men had been deployed in obedience to the order of an Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa, which mandated all security agencies to maintain law and order during the poll.

Speaking exclusively with Saturday PUNCH, the Osun Amotekun Corps Commander, Isaac Omoyele, said operatives of the corps had been deployed for the exercise.

Omoyele, while responding to enquiry from our correspondent on whether the agency would join the poll, asked, “Have you seen a copy of the court order that said we should participate in the election?

“In obedience to that order, we have deployed men across the state for the election to ensure that we have a peaceful exercise. Amotekun will participate and provide security during the poll. We have been served the court order and we will obey.”

OSSIEC staff abandon office

Checks by our correspondents at the headquarters of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission in Osogbo showed slow pace of activities.

There was heavy security presence at the entrance of the building as those going in were subjected to thorough checks. But the premises were not sealed as speculated.

Party leaders, journalists and ad hoc staff were observed waiting for materials and identification tags to be distributed to them. But no official of the commission was on ground to attend to them.

The mobile phone number of the chairman of the commission, Hashim Abioye, was switched off when called around 5pm on Friday.

There was no distribution of materials on the premises and at the hall of Fakunle Comprehensive High School, Osogbo, where the ad hoc staff recruited by the commission were told to converge.

Some staff members of the commission, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they stayed away from the office to avoid arrest.

One of them said, “We envisaged this and we have moved our materials out of the commission’s office since. Those that do not want the election to hold may arrest us.

“We have our offices in different places in the town. Our people are afraid. We have not been going to the office since Wednesday evening.”

Low awareness among residents

There was apparent low awareness about the poll among residents as some of them that spoke on the election were indifferent about it.

A trader around Olaiya area of Osogbo, Yusuf Olutope, who said he was unaware of the poll, said he was unsure he would vote.

“Election is being held tomorrow? (Saturday)”, he asked. “I am not sure I will vote. You can observe there’s no enthusiasm about it among residents.”

Another resident, who identified herself only as Kudrat, said, “I know the election is scheduled for tomorrow but you can see people don’t feel it. There’s nothing to suggest people are preparing for it.”

Osun court mandates OSSIEC to conduct election

Meanwhile, an Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa on Friday held that vacancies existed in all the 30 LGAs in the state and mandated the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission to fill the offices.

Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe, while ruling on a motion on notice filed by the Peoples Democratic Party in a suit number HIL/M/.192025, against the Osun State Electoral Commission and Hashim Abioye, the OSSIEC chairman, also directed law enforcement agencies to provide security during and after the local government election.

Aderibigbe held that vacancies exist in Osun LGA, after the election conducted by OSSIEC on 15th October, 2022, was invalidated by the Federal High Court in a judgement delivered on November 30, 2022.

He also said the judgement of the Federal High Court was confirmed by the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on January 13, 2025.

APC kicks

Reacting to the ruling, the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress berated the PDP over the  injunction calling on security agents to supervise the council election.

A press release by the Osun APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, said the interim order was a ‘joke taken too far.’

He contended that Nigerian statutes did not prescribe that a lower court should override an Appeal Court judgement.

He called for firmness with the way security agents had been enforcing the February 10, 2025, Court of Appeal judgement that reinstated the “cruelly sacked local government political functionaries by Governor Adeleke in 2022.”

“I can’t imagine a state in very civilized South Western Nigeria to be drifting into abyss and brigandage and perverting the rule of law which the ineptitude of its leadership is breeding,” Lawal added.

Labour Party seeks postponement

Also, the Forum of Labour Party candidates in the Osun council election, has called for a shift in the poll, lamenting that OSSIEC had not made available needed identification for party agents and others that would work during the poll.

Addressing journalists in Osogbo, the leader of the Forum, Mr. Bode Babalola, who is the chairmanship candidate of the party for Osogbo LGA, also said security situation was not encouraging and feared asking agents of the party to go out for the election might be a risk.

Speaking in a similar vein, the Labour Party Chairman in Osun, Adebayo Bello, who said the party spent over N5m to obtain nomination form for the election, said the decision of the candidates should be respected.

Police ask Adeleke to suspend poll 

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has called on the Osun State Government to suspend the LG election.

The police stated that joint intelligence assessments revealed that various groups, including political elements and other interested parties, were mobilising to instigate unrest, disrupt public peace, and undermine the democratic process.

In a statement on Friday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the intelligence reports at the disposal of the police showed a high possibility of violence in the state should the election be held.

“The Nigeria Police Force has received credible intelligence indicating a high likelihood of violence and significant security threats should the planned Local Government elections proceed in Osun State.

“Given this imminent threat to security, the NPF strongly advises the Osun State Government to suspend the planned elections forthwith in the interest of public safety and national stability.”

One of the children of the couple who killed each other on Tuesday at the Ita Eku area of Igirigiri, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has recounted how his parents engaged in a deadly machete fight that led to their deaths.

The couple’s lifeless bodies were discovered in a pool of blood on Tuesday at their residence where they lived with their four children.

According to reports, the deceased wife usually accused her husband, identified as Caleb, who was said to be a policeman, of infidelity.

Sources said the couple killed each other during a fight as deep machete wounds were visible on their bodies. 

However, in a viral video shared on Instagram by Daodu Sammy Gbenga on Thursday, a boy said to be one of the couple’s children, revealed that there was no noticeable dispute between his parents on the night of the tragic incident.

Aged about 13 years, the boy, seen in the video wearing white underwear and blue jeans, recalled that his father had promised to share his struggles with him but was always afraid whenever his mother was around.

“Before my daddy died, he said he would tell me his story. But whenever my mum came home, he became afraid. I asked him why, but he never gave an answer,” the boy recounted.

He explained that before the fatal fight that led to their deaths, his parents had played and prayed together with the family, giving the impression that all was well between them.

“My father came home around 9 p.m. that day. He refused to eat because my mum wasn’t back yet. But when she finally arrived, they played together. They were talking, laughing, and even telling us stories,” he stated.

After spending time with the family, the boy said his father picked up his Bible, and they all had their night prayers before heading for bed.

According to the boy, chaos erupted in the middle of the night. “I started hearing the sound of a cutlass,” the boy said.

Providing further details, he continued, “I quickly woke my sister up, and we tried to get into their room, but they had locked the door. My sister ran outside, picked up a big stone, and hit it against the door, but it didn’t open still. Meanwhile, we could still hear our dad and mum screaming at each other. So, we ran to the next house to get help from the boys living there.”

“But there was silence by the time we returned. The boys forced the door open, and we found our parents lying on the floor, covered in blood. The boys rushed them to the hospital.”

A resident of the area, who spoke about the incident, corroborated the boy’s narrative.

“From what I saw, it looked like they had a serious disagreement, but no one can say for sure. It seemed as if the woman cut off the man’s private part, and in retaliation, he inflicted a fatal wound on her. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but that’s what I suspect,” the source said.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Sunday Abutu, stated that law enforcement authorities had launched an investigation into the matter.

Wunmi Aloba, the widow of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, has alleged that her father-in-law, Joseph Aloba, has taken the side of Naira Marley, one of the friends of her late husband accused of bullying him prior to his death.

Wunmi made this claim when she appeared as a guest on the With Chude show during the week.

She said, “I knew he reacted to an injection and the fact that at the end of the autopsy, it came out inconclusive just because of the one mistake my father-in-law made, which was burying him. This is one thing I don’t want to accept. Liam will grow up and see all of these things one day and he will ask me questions, and the story will not be interesting if, at the end of the day, there was no justice for his father.

“The fact that he was bullied by his oppressors, and up till this moment, nothing has been done.  Liam will see the bullying that happened to his father, which was what brought the world out for justice. Even though the police promised they would bring them to justice, nothing has been done up till this moment.

“You know you don’t have to kill somebody with a sword before you kill him. They cannot deny the fact that they made life unbearable for my husband. A lot of people everywhere might be supporting them in bashing me so that  I wouldn’t talk about the bullying but the few clips online cannot be erased and Liam will grow up to see all of those things.”

“And his father, (Joseph Aloba) has been on Naira Marley’s side. He has been speaking for them and trying to save them for reasons best known to him, so who am I? The ‘justice for Mohbad’ my father-in-law is asking for is not the same justice the public is asking for.

She also voiced fears that her son might be traumatised when he grows up and learns about all that happened to his father.

“I pray Liam doesn’t grow up traumatised from seeing what happened to his father. Imaging witnessing a group of people beating his father that way, it is traumatizing. Even me, whenever I think about those things, they break me but at this point, I’m fighting for my life and that of my child.”

Referring to the alleged bully, she said, “One thing I will tell him is that even if the whole world does not believe what I have been saying, you know deep down that you maltreated my husband. It has got to a point when I will speak up and not die in silence.”