Last week in Lagos, it was the end of the road for a suspected representative of a cartel of drug counterfeiters based in China when operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, succeeded in arresting one Olisaemeka Osefor, alleged to be one of their kingpins in Nigeria. The drug cartel specializes in the production and shipment of various fake and counterfeit products into the Nigerian market.

Residents of 500 Housing Estates, otherwise called ‘Bafarawa Quarters’ in Sokoto metropolis, recently demonstrated how communities can assist in fighting crime in their vicinity. It was at about 5.30am when they were going to the mosque to say their early morning prayers. They accosted a 15- year- old JSS II boy, Godwin Dominic who was brought from Aba to run errands for one of their neighbours identified as Mrs. Bola Balogun. He was in possession of two sacks popularly called Ghana Must Go.

• It’s not abandoned – Govt
IT seems residents and visitors to Lagos State, will have to wait a little longer for the commencement of the multi million naira contract for the installation of Close Circuit Televisions, CCTVs, in the state aimed at addressing perennial security and traffic challenges.

AJEGUNLE, popularly known as the ghetto city is located in the Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State. It has a dense population of about 555,000 people and 335 streets. It is bordered on the west by Apapa Wharf and Tincan, two of Nigeria’s biggest sea ports from where over 70 percent of imported goods come into the country.

Professor Chinua Achebe had left the University of Massachusetts about a decade before I joined the same University in 1983 as Professor and Director of the Automation and Robotics laboratory. At the time, Achebe’s reputation was still looming large at UMass. On realizing that Achebe and I came from the same country and the same state in Nigeria (old Anambra State), students and professors as well as non-academic staff ceaselessly asked me questions about Achebe—about his health, his family, his books and, of course, about the legendary village of Umuofia in his epic novel, Things Fall Apart. Poor fellows! My only contact with Achebe then was only through his books which I thoroughly enjoyed reading while in high school.

*Says Jonathan is focused on development
In this interview, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Reuben Abati, speaks on the administration’s successes, but, more importantly, on the security situation in the country. Excerpts:

Renowned cardiologist, Dr.Kingsley Kolapo Akinroye, was, in November 2012, appointed the Honourary Consul of Finland, following the opening of the Honourary Consulate of Finland in Lagos by the Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, Her Excellency Mrs Riitta Korpivaara. Prior to his appointment, he had pursued medical studies and a research fellowship in Finland and notably acted as the Secretary General of the Finland-Nigeria Friendship Association for years.

Since 2009, there have been bloodletting in the North on the grounds of Islamizing the country by Jama-‘a Ahl al-sunnah li-da’wa wa al-jiha-d, also known as Boko Haram. In this interview, the Bishop, Diocese of Kubwa, Anglican Communion, and National Treasurer of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, the Right Reverend Duke Akamisoko, speaks on the national insecurity created by the activities of the group and other pertinent issues that need to be addressed if Nigeria is to move forward. Excerpts:

As the rainy season picks up, the North Central Zonal Office of the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) has embarked on a disaster risk management campaign in order to mitigate the effect of the flood predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) this year. In this interview, the NEMA Coordinator in the zone, Mr. Mohammed Abdulsalam, speaks on the preparedness of the agency in the zone to avoid a repeat of the 2012 flood disaster.

For some time now, armed robbers and kidnappers have taken over an area referred to as “Evil Forest” located along the Benin-City bypass, and seen as a haven for criminal activities. Luxury buses plying the East-Lagos routes have on many occasions been attacked, passengers robbed and women raped in the area. Those who resist are killed. Families of many kidnapped victims are asked to go to the ‘Evil Forest’ to drop ransom. In the past, policemen dared not go near the place because they may not come back alive to tell the story.