Crime
Four drug kingpins bag 95 years in jail, forfeit jeeps, others
Four drug kingpins bag 95 years in jail, forfeit jeeps, others
By: Michael Mike
Four drug kingpins: Ogbuji Ifeanyi; Iloduba Chinonye; Shuaibu Isa (a.k.a Don) and Zidon Zurga have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 95 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos and Yola, Adamawa state over trafficking of cocaine and skunk worth over N4.6 billion.
Ogbuji was intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on 18th September 2024 during an inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight passengers from Addis Ababa to Lagos for importing 817 wraps of cocaine weighing 19.4 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of N47 billion.
That was barely 16 months after the 48-year-old businessman was arrested and convicted for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine. He was first arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on 10th May 2023 upon arrival from Uganda via Addis Ababa, onboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 951 for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.986 kilogrammes. He was subsequently arraigned before Federal High Court 12 Abuja presided over by Hon. Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/192/2023 and convicted on 13th July 2023.
Ogbuji was sentenced to two years imprisonment with an option of paying a fine of N3 million which he paid and was set free, but not done with crime, Ogbuji was again arrested at the Lagos airport with the large consignment of cocaine on 18th September 2024, after which he was arraigned before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court Lagos in charge number: FHC/L/845C on 16th January 2025.
He was eventually sentenced on 28th February to five years imprisonment on count one with an option of N7 million fine and 10 years imprisonment on count two without an option of fine. In the event that he failed to pay the N7million fine, the judge ruled that the convict will serve a total of 15 years in jail consecutively. The court ordered the forfeiture of monetary exhibits and other items found on him at the time of his arrest.
In his own case, 51-year-old Iludoba was arrested by NDLEA operatives on new year eve, 31st December 2021 at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for cocaine trafficking. He was found to have ingested 58 wraps of the illicit drug, 48 of which he excreted on transit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while he expelled the balance of 10 in NDLEA custody after his arrest on 1st January 2022. He was thereafter arraigned on two counts in charge number FHC/EN/CR/18/2022 before Justice Folashade Giwa Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Enugu.
After three years of diligent prosecution, Iludoba was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count, bringing his total years in jail to 10 years, which will run concurrently from the date of his conviction, Wednesday 5th March 2025.
In the case of Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (a.k.a Don), 55, and Zidon Zurga, 50, they were arrested by NDLEA operatives on 25th November 2024 along Numan- Yola road with 500.800kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in a pilot Toyota Hilux vehicle marked Lagos NT 829 AAA and a Prado SUV with a fake presidency number plate 01B-266 FG.
They were later arraigned before Justice Bala Usman in charge number: FHC/YL/150 /2024 and convicted on 7th February 2025 to 35 years imprisonment each on two counts, bringing the combined years in jail for both of them to 70 years or pay a fine of N25 million each. The court also ordered the interim forfeiture of the two jeeps used in trafficking the illicit drug consignment.
Reacting to the conviction of the trio, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the trial courts, the teams of officers who investigated and prosecuted the three cases at the MMIA Strategic Command in Lagos, Akanu Ibiam International Airport Special Area Command, Enugu and the Adamawa State Command for their diligence and professionalism. He said “the conviction and the forfeiture of the convicts’ instruments of crime will further strengthen the deterrent effect of our ongoing effort to totally dismantle every drug network in the country.”
Four drug kingpins bag 95 years in jail, forfeit jeeps, others
FCT Police arrest two notorious armed robbers in Kurudu
By: Zagazola Makama
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested two notorious armed robbery suspects terrorising Kurudu and its environs.
The suspects, identified as Hassan Adamu and Auwal Mohammed, both aged 25, were arrested on May 8 at about 2:00 p.m. during a targeted raid by operatives of the Scorpion Squad.
Police sources said that the suspects were linked to multiple violent robbery incidents in the area.
“One of the suspects confessed to a specific robbery at Angwan Hausawa, Kurudu, where a male victim, identified as Mohammed, was stabbed and later died from the injuries sustained during the attack.
Acting on credible intelligence, police operatives stormed a criminal hideout in Kurudu where the suspects were apprehended. A sharp dagger, reportedly intended for use against police operatives, was recovered during the search.
The suspects also revealed the identities of other members of their gang who remain at large and are believed to be armed.
The police sources said a manhunt is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and recover additional weapons.
FCT Police arrest two notorious armed robbers in Kurudu
Gunmen kill four in Logo lga of Benue, as security forces intensify hunt for killers
By: Zagazola Makama
Four persons have been killed by suspected armed men in Tse-Nyamkyume, Tombo Council Ward, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, the Police Command confirmed on Tuesday.
Zagazola Makama report that the victims, identified as Matthew Mvendaga, Mernangwajume, Ushahemba Mvendaga, and a woman whose full identity is yet to be confirmed, were shot dead around 11 p.m. on Monday by gunmen suspected to have come from Guma Local Government Area.
The sources said that a top Police Officer was currently leading a combined team of conventional policemen and personnel from the Police Mobile Force (PMF) to comb the area in pursuit of the assailants.
The police sources assured residents that efforts were being intensified to apprehend those behind the attack and bring them to justice.
Gunmen kill four in Logo lga of Benue, as security forces intensify hunt for killers
Six Military personnel, two civilians arrested over death of suspect in kaduna
By: Zagazola Makama
Atleast Six Military personnel and two civilians were arrested in connection with the alleged torture and death of a 65-year-old man, Surajo, popularly known as “Alhaji M,” in Millennium City, Kaduna.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident reportedly occurred on May 3, 2025, when two civilians, Alhaji Adamu Jinjiri, of Shehu Laminu Road, Unguwan Rimi, and Ibrahim Yakubu, of Maladanga Road, Unguwan Rimi, apprehended the deceased over allegations of conspiracy and theft.
The suspects accused the victim of aiding one Yahaya Aleiru, currently at large, in stealing a cow and an electrical distribution box. They allegedly handed Surajo over to operatives of the Millennium City Strike Force, a military security unit in the area.
According to a police sources, the victim was severely tortured at a checkpoint by the military personnel, including one Lieutenant Alhassan Musa and five others, leading to his collapse.
Surajo was later rushed to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor.
Sources from the Kaduna State Police Command said all eight suspects, including the six soldiers and the two civilians who initiated the arrest, have been taken into custody.
“The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Kaduna, for discreet investigation,” a police source told Zagazola Makama.
Six Military personnel, two civilians arrested over death of suspect in kaduna
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