The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, yesterday said that the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos was safe for use, contrary to a Facebook posting spreading fears about the bridge.
The Ministry in a statement attached a video of ongoing under water confirmatory tests on the bridge’s piles.
The statement, signed by Special Adviser, Communications, to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Hakeem Bello, added that the expansion joints being speculated to be dangerous was among those slated for repairs.
“The General Public is hereby informed that the expansion joint shown in a Facebook video clip, is one of those slated for change during repairs on the Third Mainland Bridge which will commence soon.
“It is still functioning and our engineers and consultants have advised that it does not pose any structural danger to the bridge and it is safe for use.
“Commuters and Lagos residents will recall that the Third Mainland Bridge was shut down for a 3-day Investigative Maintenance in August 2018.
“Tests done on the expansion joints then — called static and dynamic load tests — were to check functionality. A number of expansion joints were identified for replacement then.
“More recently, in March this year, underwater confirmatory tests (video attached) preceding the repair works to be done on the Bridge, were carried out on the piles to determine if there is further deterioration or not on the piles from that done in 2013.
“However, all the tests done preparatory to closure of the Bridge to commence comprehensive Maintenance works indicate that the integrity of the Bridge is intact.
“Therefore, the Third Mainland Bridge is safe for use, and people should desist from spreading or sharing false information about the Bridge on Social Media platforms.
“The expansion joints to be replaced are part of a regular bridge maintenance programme that has been neglected for decades, which the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is now addressing frontally, on many bridges nationwide.

The Anglican Bishop of Abakaliki Diocese has called on the federal government to intervene over land and boundary disputes amongst Ebonyi, Benue and Cross River states and take over such where disputes persist.
The Rt. Rev. Monday Nkwoagu of the Diocese said that displacement of communities and families occasioning hardship in the aforementioned areas had been on the rise and  something needed to be done about it.
Nkwoagu, who was delivering an Easter message yesterday in Abakaliki, advised all warring communities and states to come together and resolve their differences through dialogue.
The cleric also urged the federal government to engage them in dialogue to resolve the issues for peace sake.
“Most rural dwellers are now displaced, and things are very difficult for them. One cannot even visit those areas freely.
“I plead to authorities responsible for quick response as lives and property worth millions had been lost to land disputes and may continue if not handled, “ the bishop said.
He reiterated that where solution to the disputes could not be easily found the federal government should take over and forestall further skirmishes.
Nkwoagu urged the communities and states to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which brought forgiveness and recognition so they could move forward.
“We should try and bury our prides, learn from Christ’s humility and sacrifice for the sake of peace and lives.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Adefolusho Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, over his alleged role in multiple shipments of illicit drugs from Ghana to Nigeria.

Olasele, who had been on the run for months, was apprehended on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at his church in Okun Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.

A statement by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, yesterday, said operatives waited until the end of the Sunday service before arresting him as he stepped out of the premises.

According to him, the pastor fled to Ghana in June to evade arrest after operatives linked him to two cannabis seizures — 200kg recovered at Okun Ajah Beach on June 4 and 700kg found in his delivery van on July 6.

“After months of fleeing abroad to evade arrest, the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele (alias Abbas Ajakaiye) has been arrested for masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria.

“Prophet Adefolusho was arrested at his church located in Okun Ajah, Ogombo road, Lekki area of Lagos on Sunday, 3rd August 2025 by NDLEA officers who waited for him since morning to conclude the Sunday worship service in the evening before moving in on him the moment he stepped out of the church premises.

“The arrest came after he had evaded arrest twice and fled to Ghana to hide since June, when operatives started trailing him following the seizure of two shipments of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis linked to him. The first seizure of 200kg of the psychoactive substance was made at Okun Ajah beach on 4th June 2025, while another consignment of 700kg of the same substance was recovered from his delivery van on 6th July 2025,” the statement read.

Babafemi claimed the pastor confessed to ferrying the consignments via waterways from Ghana.

He said, “In his statement, he admitted ferrying the illicit consignments through the waterways from Ghana into Nigeria, adding that he had fled to the West African country to hide after he escaped arrest twice in the recent past.”

In a separate operation in Lagos on Thursday, August 7, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives raided an apartment at Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, where they arrested one Benjamin Ukoh and recovered 32 pouches of Canadian Loud, weighing 15.63kg.

“In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, August 9, recovered a large consignment of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 3,093 kilograms from the trio of Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny, 51; Okem Raphael, 33, and Chekwube Odo, 25, at New Karu area of the state.

“While 29-year-old Nura Yahaya was nabbed at Geza area of Kumbotso Kano State with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359kg on Friday 8th August, another suspect Umar Adamu Umar, 27, was taken into custody on Wednesday 6th August by NDLEA officers after seizing 9kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis from him along Zaria-Kano road, Kano, ” the statement added.

In Gombe State, Babafemi stated that a raid on an uncompleted building in Tudun Wadan Pantami on Friday, August 8, led to the recovery of 550,266 opioid pills and the arrest of Usama Isah.

“The following day, Saturday 9th August, another suspect, Ibrahim Adamu, 23, was arrested by NDLEA officers along Potiskum road, Bajoga with 50,000 capsules of tramadol”, he added.

In Edo State, a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Onitsha to Isanlu, Kogi, was intercepted at Ewu junction on Wednesday, August 6, with 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tablets, and 400 pentazocine ampoules. The driver, Taiye Jethro, was arrested.

Commending the officers involved, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), urged personnel nationwide to maintain a balanced approach to drug control operations.