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Blasphemy: Police, security managers meet with religious stakeholders in Borno

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Blasphemy: Police, security managers meet with religious stakeholders in Borno

Blasphemy: Police, security managers meet with religious stakeholders in Borno

By:  Bodunrin Kayode

Borno state Police Command has called on religious stake holders to avoid any thing that would disturb the current peace especially in the Borno state capital.

Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar who addressed key stake holders yesterday said that Borno cannot afford to be complicit with the obvious tension generated last week in which a student was lynched by fellow students for alleged blasphemy in sokoto

Having seen the rising tension created by the lynching of Deborah Samuel for alleged blasphemy, the Command, engaged critical stakeholders in a peace building dialogue to forestall any unrest. 

Addressing the stakeholders,  Commissioner, Abdu Umar said that intelligence report indicated that certain elements were already gearing up for a showdown in the city in reaction to the Sokoto incident but that police personnel, along with other security agencies like the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Department of the State Security Services ( DSS), and the military, deployed to maintain decorum were already nipping it in the bud.

Also Read: ISWAP: Two Commanders,  Bako Gorgore, Abu Ibrahim killed in…

He said that the meeting with critical stakeholders and religious leaders in the state followed after meeting with the Deputy Governor, Umar Kadafur, who directed him to call on leaders of the two major religions to maintain a truce.

He directed religious leaders to speak with their followers on the need to maintain peace and safety in the midst of security challenges confronting Sokoto and threats of retaliation in some states.

 Commissioner Abdu reiterated that in the past 12 years,  Borno state had suffered a lot of security challenges adding that they can’t afford an addition

He said that they have not only engaged the religious leaders, the police and other security agencies, since the unrest started in Sokoto, but have deployed personnel across the state capital and also stepped up surveillance accordingly. 

Abdu stressed that in the case of any eventuality, they are also going to embark on a show of force from today Sunday to alert residents that the security agents are on red alert, and battle-ready to pounce on anybody that will want to attempt to disturb public peace across Borno State.

Responding, the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN Chairman Borno State chapter, Bishop Mohammed Naga, assured that Christian leaders in the state have captioned their members to exercise patience and not take any laws into their hands.

Naga said already letters were sent to all the pastors across the state telling them to inform their members that they dont want any reaction from them and they should go about their normal activities without any fear of attack.

Sheikh Muhammad Abulfathi who spoke on behalf of the Chief Imam Laisu Ahmad, charged Borno residents to desist from the temptation of commenting on religious posts on social media as those comments are the root causes of the crises which could be inciting and harmful to others leading to violent reactions among the public.

Those who attended the meeting included the representatives of the Nigerian Army, DSS, NSCDC, Borno State Government, Christian and Muslim religious leaders.

Blasphemy: Police, security managers meet with religious stakeholders in Borno

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Crime

Illicit drug consignment packaged as green tea intercepted at Lagos airport

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Illicit drug consignment packaged as green tea intercepted at Lagos airport

By:Michael Mike

No fewer than 66 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, packaged as green tea have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

According to the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, the seizure made last Thursday was based on credible intelligence received ahead of the arrival of the consignment at the cargo wing of the airport on 11th May.

Babafemi, in the statement issued on Sunday, disclosed that the NDLEA had watch-listed the shipment, and sustained surveillance around it for over three weeks before inviting other stakeholders for a joint examination last Thursday.

He said the Loud consignment weighing 62.2 kilogrammes was concealed inside wraps of green tea that came from Thailand via UAE on an Emirate Airlines flight.

Babafemi said in another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives last Monday intercepted a consignment of 1,665 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis, along Lekki-Ajah expressway. Two suspects: Gidado Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi were promptly arrested in connection with the seizure.

In Kaduna, operatives of the state command of NDLEA on patrol along Abuja – Kaduna expressway last Tuesday arrested 29-year-old Goodluck Nnaemeka with 612 bottles of codeine-based syrup and 2,970 pills of flunitrazepam. In another operation same day, a 52-year-old wanted drug dealer Kabiru Musa (a.k.a KB) was arrested at Kurmin Mashi. A total of 25.7 kilogrammes skunk was earlier recovered from his base.
While a total of 9 kilogrammes Loud was recovered from the spare tyre compartment of an Audi station wagon car marked AAA 975 XU driven by Atari Israel, 45, along Auchi road, Edo state, two young women: Favour Joy and Joy Igwe were last Tuesday nabbed at Ikpoba hill area of Benin city. Recovered from them include: 106.57 kilogrammes skunk; 1 kilogramme Loud; 800 grammes Colorado and 302 grammes of methamphetamine.

Babafemi said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, and Edo commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

Illicit drug consignment packaged as green tea intercepted at Lagos airport

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Young man dies after falling into abandoned mining pit in FCT

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Young man dies after falling into abandoned mining pit in FCT

By: Zagazola Makama

A 27-year-old man, Ismail Ahmed, has died after being trapped in an abandoned mining pit in Pangu Village, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

Zagazola Makama learnt that the incident happened on Saturday, June 7, during a heavy downpour while Ahmed was washing clothes by a nearby stream.

According to family members, he sought shelter from the rain by entering the old mining hole dug by former gold miners. The soil collapsed due to the heavy rain, trapping him inside.

Community members rescued him and rushed him to Kwali General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The family declined an autopsy and opted for burial according to Islamic rites.

Local residents have been advised to exercise caution and avoid unsafe locations, particularly during the rainy season, to prevent similar tragedies.

Young man dies after falling into abandoned mining pit in FCT

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Troops intercept truck with over 164,000 cartridges in Anambra, arrest suspected IPOB/ESN arms suppliers

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Troops intercept truck with over 164,000 cartridges in Anambra, arrest suspected IPOB/ESN arms suppliers

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of Sector 5 of Operation UDO KA, in a joint operation with operatives of the 63 Brigade and the Department of State Services (DSS), have intercepted a truck loaded with over 164,000 live cartridges allegedly being supplied to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN).

Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the operation followed credible intelligence which led to the arrest of a suspected arms courier, Mr Emeka Omenife, along the Asaba–Onitsha expressway on 29 May 2025.

According to the sources, Omenife was immediately handed over to the DSS for interrogation. During questioning, he reportedly confessed to being part of a syndicate involved in transporting ammunition from Ghana to Nigeria for IPOB/ESN operatives.

Following his confession, troops arrested his accomplice, Mr Uchenna Obiora, at the Onitsha–Awka tollgate on 30 May 2025, while he was awaiting delivery of the ammunition.The arrest led to the interception of a truck which had the concealed ammunition.

“Upon interception, the vehicle was moved to Onitsha Cantonment, where a thorough search revealed a total of 164,650 live cartridges hidden in four constructed compartments within the cargo bed of the truck,” a source told Zagazola.

The cartridges, believed to have been purchased from Ghana, had Onitsha as their destination, the source added. Further investigations are ongoing to track down other members of the syndicate and their collaborators.

Zagazola also confirmed from security sources that Omenife had earlier been arrested by troops and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) tracking team on Jan. 22 at his residence in Onitsha Housing Estate.

During the January operation, he attempted to flee and was shot in the buttocks before being evacuated to the 302 Army Regiment Medical Services for treatment. He was later handed over to the Anambra State Police Criminal Investigation Department, Annex Akwuzu, for prosecution. His re-arrest in May suggests that he may have returned to the same criminal enterprise following his release in an unexplained circumstances.

Troops intercept truck with over 164,000 cartridges in Anambra, arrest suspected IPOB/ESN arms suppliers

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