Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Lagos State Police Command has intercepted a truck loaded with 47 sacks containing military camouflage uniforms and 80 cartons of suspected hard drugs, arresting four suspects in an operation that has exposed the clandestine supply chain supplying military gear to criminal networks in the South‑East. The breakthrough was announced by the Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, where he detailed the command’s achievements over the past two weeks and paraded the recovered items before journalists.
Acting on actionable intelligence, operatives of the State Tactical Squad intercepted the truck in the early hours of Saturday, June 20, 2026, along the Lekki‑Epe corridor. The vehicle, an unregistered MAN diesel truck, was discovered to be loaded with multiple sacks containing military camouflage uniforms and caps, alongside 80 cartons of various illicit substances. The police said the consignment was being transported from Lagos to an undisclosed destination in the eastern part of the country. “These bags you are seeing here contain military camouflage. We received information and swung into action. The vehicle conveying the sacks was intercepted while moving out of Lagos State, and those carrying them were arrested,” Tijani stated.
The four suspects arrested in connection with the shipment were identified as Chinedu David, 29; Ezeagwu Chukwuma, 38; and Ifeanyi Ogbeanyi, 45. Another suspect was also apprehended, though his identity was not immediately disclosed by the police. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were members of a syndicate allegedly involved in the illegal movement and distribution of military accoutrements across the country. “Preliminary investigation revealed that the recovered truck was allegedly being used to transport the military camouflage uniforms to the Eastern part of the country,” the police commissioner said, adding that efforts are ongoing to determine the source and intended recipients of the recovered items and identify other persons connected with the criminal act.
CP Tijani expressed concern over the possible use of the seized military uniforms by criminal groups, noting that the growing trend of bandits and terrorists disguising themselves in military attire posed a serious threat to national security. “With the trend of events across the country, especially in areas affected by banditry and other violent crimes, we have seen criminal elements wearing military uniforms. We do not yet know what these uniforms were meant for, and that is why the investigation is ongoing,” he said.
In a separate development, the Lagos State Police Command also announced the arrest of 34 foreign nationals during a raid on a building on Lagos Island. The suspects, comprising 14 citizens of Chad, nine from Burkina Faso, four from Benin Republic, four Malians, two Togolese, two Cameroonians and one Guinean, were unable to provide satisfactory explanations about their activities in Nigeria. “All they could tell us was that they were into networking. They could not clearly explain what they were doing in the country,” Tijani said. The individuals are being profiled by the State Criminal Investigation Department and will later be handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service for further action.
The interception of the military uniforms and illicit drugs comes weeks after the Nigeria Customs Service seized a luxury bus conveying military camouflage uniforms and narcotics along the Sagamu‑Ore‑Benin Expressway, also heading towards the South‑East. The series of seizures has raised fresh concerns among security agencies about the ease with which military gear is being moved across state lines and the possibility that such uniforms are being acquired by criminal groups to perpetrate violent crimes. As investigations continue, the police have assured residents of Lagos that the Command remains committed to intelligence‑led policing and proactive operations aimed at preventing the movement of illegal weapons and military accoutrements across the state.
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