Zulum Launches Annual Free Christmas Transport For 1,050 Non Indigenes, Support for Vulnerable

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Sunday, launched the 2025 Free Annual Transportation Programme to 1,050 non-indigenes and support to vulnerable people.

The initiative reaffirms his administration’s commitment to compassion, inclusivity and people-centred governance to residents and inhabitants of the state.

The scheme has continued to provide critical mobility support to thousands of Nigerians since its inception in 2020, facilitating safe interstate travel during the festive season, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or social background.

The Governor represented by the Chairman of the Implementation Committee, Chief Ugochukwu Egwudike , said the initiative was designed to ease the hardship faced by low-income earners and vulnerable groups, especially during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He noted that beyond transportation, the programme aims to promote social cohesion and national unity by reconnecting families separated by economic and security challenges.

Egwudike recalled that “over the years, the scheme has reunited families who had been unable to travel home for three to five years, enabling them to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones”.

He added “during the previous exercise, beneficiaries also received ₦30,000 each, paid directly into their bank accounts to cushion financial pressures and ensure transparency in disbursement”,.

The Chairman of the committee said the 2025 exercise covers all six geopolitical zones of the country, a total of 320 passengers will be transported safely on day one, 280 on day two, and 150 on day three, with all passengers conveyed safely to their destinations, while 300 widows will recieve palliatives.

“A total of 750 people are expected to travel in batches between today, Monday and Tuesday while 300 widows, orphans and other vulnerable groups will receive palliatives on the 4th day of the excercise being 24th December,” Egwudike said.

Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Borno State Chapter, Apostle Joshua Akeredolu, commended the initiative, describing it as timely and impactful, particularly for Christian faithful travelling to celebrate Christmas.

He praised Governor Zulum’s inclusive leadership and offered prayers for his continued success and greater service to humanity.

The Chief of Idoma Community in Borno State, Jonah Odo, described the programme as a practical demonstration of Governor Zulum’s humane and responsive leadership, noting its positive impact on social welfare, interfaith harmony, and national integration.

Chief Odo said Idoma community in Borno State is appreciating the Governor for all the good works he has being doing for the non-indigenes in the state and urged other state governors to emulate Zulum’s gesture for the unification of the country.

The Free Annual Transportation Programme remains one of the flagship social intervention initiatives of Governor Zulum’s administration, providing annual relief and mobility support to thousands of Nigerians across the country.

Zulum Launches Annual Free Christmas Transport For 1,050 Non Indigenes, Support for Vulnerable

Female drug kingpin arrested in Lagos with 23.5kg cocaine stashed children’s room

By: Michael Mike

Twenty months after a cocaine trafficking cartel led by a couple: Toheebat Dauda and Lookman Dauda was smashed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with multi-billion-naira worth of illicit drug recovered, another leader of the syndicate Shodunke Simbiat who went underground since May 2024 has been nabbed in her Lagos home where additional 23.5 kilogrammes of the class A drug were recovered from her children’s room.

According to a press statement by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, the kingpin Lookman and his queen Toheebat were arrested on Saturday 25th May 2024 by operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry expressway while attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana.

Babafemi said at the point of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilogrammes were found on them, with a swift follow up operation in their residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC extension, Petedo road, Agbara, Ogun state, leading to the recovery of additional eight blocks of the same drug weighing 10 kilogrammes, bringing the total weight of the consignment seized from the couple to 57.5 kilogrammes.

The spokesman, said determined to rein in every member of the syndicate, the NDLEA operatives continued with follow up intelligence and surveillance on the trans-border drug trafficking organisation until a 39-year-old female stash keeper Shodunke Simbiat was identified as a key member of the DTO, which elicited her being trailed to her 31 Onasanya street, Surulere, Lagos residence on Tuesday 9th December 2025.

Babafemi revealed that a thorough search of her home led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.5 kilogrammes concealed in a black suit case recovered from her children’s room, a drug consignment worth over N5billion in street value that she subsequently admitted ownership of.

In other clampdowns, the NDLEA operatives attached to terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos last Thursday intercepted a 36-year-old businessman Nwanwene Destiny with a total of 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg concealed in his luggage while attempting to board a Royal Air-Maroc flight to Milan, Italy where he is based. He claimed the successful trafficking of the opioids to Italy would have fetched him €200 from the person he was to deliver them to.

At the Seme border in Badagry area of Lagos, a 48-year-old Beninoise Leocardi Josu was last Thursday arrested by NDLEA officers while attempting to cross into Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg, even as a suspect Abdullahi Adamu, 30, was nabbed along Okene/Lokoja highway with 28.4 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis last Friday.

In Oyo state, NDLEA operatives last Friday recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection in a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, while two suspects: Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were arrested with 185.4 kilogrammes of skunk at Challenge motor park, Ibadan, last Wednesday.

Babafemi disclosed that a total of 405 kilogrammes skunk was seized when NDLEA operatives raided Owena/Ijesha forest in Osun state where a suspect Charles James, 45, was nabbed last Friday, while another suspect Jamilu Zakari, 42, was arrested with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg at tollgate, along Abuja-Kaduna highway same day. The consignment of opioids was concealed in two kolanut sacks (huhun goro) coming from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara state.

The spokesman said across all commands and formations of the agency nationwide, NDLEA officers continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meantime, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to remain extra vigilant during the festive season and ensure that highest standard of professionalism is maintained in all their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities all through the period and beyond.

Female drug kingpin arrested in Lagos with 23.5kg cocaine stashed children’s room

Paradigm News CEO Pays Courtesy Visit to ECOWAS Commissioner, Reaffirms Commitment to Responsible Media Engagement

By: Michael Mike

In a show of solidarity and shared purpose, the Chief Executive Officer and Publisher of Paradigm News International, Mr. Raymond Enoch, paid a courtesy visit on the Commissioner for Internal Services of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Habibu Yaya Bappah, at the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja.

The visit, described by Mr. Enoch as one of goodwill and strategic alignment, served to congratulate Dr. Bappah on his recent appointment and express full support for his mandate in strengthening institutional integrity, transparency, and citizen-oriented service delivery within the region.

During the engagement, Mr. Enoch reaffirmed Paradigm News International’s unwavering dedication to responsible journalism, ethical reporting and fact-based narratives that support regional integration and sustainable development.

He underscored the urgency of countering misinformation and disinformation in today’s media environment, highlighting the media’s role as a key partner in democratic consolidation and public accountability.

Enoch said: “As a regional media institution, we remain committed to telling the ECOWAS story with integrity — to build trust, amplify citizen voices, and promote regional solidarity in line with ECOWAS Vision 2050.”

He also expressed gratitude to the ECOWAS Commission for its recognition of the media as a strategic stakeholder, recalling with appreciation his participation as an ECOWAS Excellence Award recipient, which he described as a lifelong motivation to uphold high standards in public communication.

In his remarks, Bappah welcomed the visit and applauded Paradigm News International for its continued coverage of ECOWAS initiatives. He emphasised the Commission’s openness to constructive media partnerships and assured that opportunities for collaboration would be explored, particularly in areas related to public outreach, citizen engagement, and the promotion of regional values.

The meeting highlighted the growing cooperation between ECOWAS and reputable media platforms in advancing transparency, resilience, and inclusive governance across West Africa.

Paradigm News CEO Pays Courtesy Visit to ECOWAS Commissioner, Reaffirms Commitment to Responsible Media Engagement