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Indian businessman, 3 others arrested over N3.9bn tramadol intercepted at Lagos airport

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Indian businessman, 3 others arrested over N3.9bn tramadol intercepted at Lagos airport

By: Michael Mike

An Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar and three Nigerian accomplices: Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheeb have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, said the tramadol shipment worth N3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on Ethiopian Airline flight last Monday.

He said a team of NDLEA officers who had put the consignment under surveillance however swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks last Thursday, adding that a follow up operation the following day led to the arrest of the Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment.

Babafemi said at the terminal 2 departure gate of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday 7th September intercepted a passenger Onyeganochi Ifeanyi travelling on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha, stating that a search of his bag led to the recovery of 900 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish.

Onyeganochi, a first-time traveler, claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohadiegwu Uchenna who followed him to the airport.

He said his confession led to the arrest of Uchenna who was still within view. Operatives, who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao estate discovered additional 200 grammes of the same psychoactive substance, and he claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded escaping security checks.

Babafemi said at the Tincan port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7 kilogrammes and 1.2 kilogrammes hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during a joint examination of the shipment last Tuesday. He disclosed that two suspects: John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, have been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.

Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65 kilogrammes was tracked from the port to Third Mainland bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on Thursday 11th September.

Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in picture frame and Loud, hidden in video players were seized at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday 8th and Thursday 11th September respectively by NDLEA operatives. While 6 grammes of meth recovered from the picture frame were meant for delivery in Gabon, 1.1 kilogrammes Loud in the decoder machines was heading to the United Arab Emirate.

In Ikorodu area of Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence last Thursday raided a factory producing skuchies, a blend of cannabis and black currant drink. No less than 6,029 bottles of the new psychoactive substance and 4,232 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered from the factory located in Caritas, Ibeshe area of Ikorodu while the factory manager Joy Awosika was arrested. Another suspect, Akeem Oriola was same day arrested in Mushin area of Lagos with 26 kilogrammes skunk.

In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on a stop and search operation at Utako area of the FCT last Thursday arrested a dispatch rider Godsplan Vincent, 29, while on a mission to distribute 50.7 grammes of cocaine and 66 grammes of Loud. Three female suspects: Faidat Azeez, 25; Alanu Fatimoh, 40, and Mojeed Taiwo, 25, were arrested in Lagbondoko and Akitan areas of Oyo town, Oyo State in connection with the seizure of 17 kilogrammes skunk found in their possession.

No fewer than 100,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg were seized from a suspect Musa Shuaibu, 38, at Gadar Tamburawa, along Zaria – Kano road last Monday while

196 litres of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance, were recovered from Abubakar Adamu, 35, at Na’ibawa area of Kano by NDLEA operatives who also seized 34.1 kilogrammes skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution and 25 litres of ‘suck and die’, an NPS, from Basiru Umar, 18,

at Wailari area, Kumbotso LGA, Kano state last Thursday.

In Anambra state, a couple: Nzube Onyedika, 41, and Ebele Onyedika, 42, were arrested during a raid operation at Obosi where 13.9 kilogrammes Methamphetamine and 5.3 kilogrammes skunk were recovered from them while various quantities of meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin and skunk were seized from another suspect Nnamchi Tochukwu, 36.

In Yobe, a suspect Mohammed Auwal was arrested after 36 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 22.1 kilogrammes were recovered from his residence at Gidan Talakawa area of Potiskum, while three trans-border drug traffickers: Kunyadi Ogbungbun, 24; Olalekan Adewale, 20; and Sanya Joshua,22, were nabbed with 394 kilogrammes skunk at Imeko area of Ogun State during a joint operation by NDLEA operatives with the police and local vigilante on Sunday 7th September. Three motorcycles used in conveying the illicit consignment were also recovered.

In Edo state, a total of 16,966.633 kilogrammes of skunk were destroyed on a cannabis plantation measuring 6.786653 hectares at Ugbogyi forest, Ovia South West local government area while 112 bags of processed cannabis weighing 1,176 kilogrammes were also recovered at the farm where four suspects: Ebenezer Ewang; Oshore John; Emmanuel Monday and David Sunday were arrested.

In like manner, Commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of MMIA, DOGI, Tincan, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Kano, FCT, Anambra, Yobe, and Ogun commands for the arrests, and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.

Indian businessman, 3 others arrested over N3.9bn tramadol intercepted at Lagos airport

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17 abducted victims released in Zamfara

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17 abducted victims released in Zamfara

By: Zagazola Makama

At least 17 abducted victims, including 14 females and three males, who were kidnapped in Katsina State earlier in the year have been released in Zamfara state.

Zagazola report that the victims were among those abducted on June 19, 2025, at Birdigau village in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.

According to the sources , the victims regained their freedom on Oct. 3, 2025, at about 8:30 a.m.

Upon receipt of the information, police operatives visited the scene, after which the victims were conveyed to the Ahmed Sani Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau, for medical examination under tight security.

The Chairman of Gusau Local Government, Hon. Abubakar Imam, supervised their evacuation and medical assessment.

Sources added that the victims would be handed over to their relatives in Katsina State after completion of medical checks.
End

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Fake news factories fueling religious tension in Northern Nigeria — No faith spared

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Fake news factories fueling religious tension in Northern Nigeria — No faith spared

By; Zagazola Makama

A dangerous campaign of fake news and deceptive online propaganda is threatening Nigeria’s fragile peace, security, and unity.

The campaign, largely driven by faceless actors from Nigeria and foreign-based platforms, deliberately promotes false narratives portraying Nigeria’s security crisis as a religious war between Muslims and Christians.

In reality, both Muslims and Christians have suffered devastating losses from terrorism, banditry, and communal violence across the North and other parts of the country.

Over the years, extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP have attacked mosques, churches, markets, schools, and military formations killing thousands of innocent Nigerians without discrimination.
Rural bandits in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, and Niger States have also targeted farming communities, where the victims have overwhelmingly been Muslim.

In the North-Central states of Plateau, Benue, Taraba, and parts of Southern Kaduna, both Muslim and Christian communities have endured repeated cycles of reprisal killings, with no group left untouched.

Despite these facts, foreign-based organisations and online platforms continue to publish distorted reports and manipulated images, branding every incident in Northern Nigeria as an “attack on Christians.”

In several cases, images from Muslim funeral prayers were misrepresented as photographs of Christian victims, fuelling anger and suspicion among faith communities.

Some of the fake reports also cite unverified statistics, claiming that “2,000 churches are destroyed daily” or that “3,000 Christians are killed daily.” These figures are not only false but mathematically impossible designed purely to inflame emotions and attract international condemnation against Nigeria.

These claims are “a deliberate campaign of psychological warfare” aimed at dividing Nigerians along religious lines and damaging the country’s image abroad.

The motive ⁰is to destabilise the nation by creating mistrust, promoting religious extremism, and pressuring foreign governments to impose sanctions based on fabricated data.

These actors have double standards, while they amplify unverified claims about Nigeria, they have remained silent on global revelations, such as those made by the U.S. President Donald Trump, alleging that certain international agencies indirectly funded Islamist extremist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP through aid channels.

Nigeria’s government and civil society have been urged to rise to the challenge by countering false narratives, strengthening media literacy, and ensuring that verified information dominates the digital space.

This is no longer about careless reporting, it is a war on truth, unity, and the sovereignty of the Nigerian state.

We called on Nigerians, regardless of faith or ethnicity, to unite in defense of the country’s image and resist efforts to plunge the nation into a religious crisis built entirely on misinformation.

Fake news factories fueling religious tension in Northern Nigeria — No faith spared

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NEAZDP flags off mosquito fumigation in Yobe

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NEAZDP flags off mosquito fumigation in Yobe

By: Yahaya Wakili

In a bid to combat malaria in 9 local government areas of Yobe state. The North East Arid Zone Development Programme (NEAZDP) has flagged off a large-scale mosquito fumigation campaign in Gashua, the headquarters of Bade local government, aimed at curbing the increasing cases of malaria across the communities in the state.

Dr. Mulima Idi Mato, the Programme Manager of the North East Arid Zone Development Programme (NEAZDP), described the exercises as part of the program’s ongoing commitment to public health and rural development.

According to Dr. Mato, mosquitoes remain one of the leading causes of morbidity in the state, adding that fumigation, combined with proper hygiene and environmental management, will significantly reduce health risks.

He commended Governor Dr. Mai Mala Buni’s administration for its sustained support of NEAZDP’s integrated rural development program.

Speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the Bade local government area, Hon. Ibrahim Baba Gana, the Vice Chairman of the council commended NEAZDP for the proactive initiative, while urging the residents to cooperate with health workers and embrace clean hygiene practices to ensure sustainable malaria prevention.

The stakeholders at the event pledged their support for the program and noted that the initiative will not only protect households from malaria but also enhance productivity by reducing the burden of sickness in the rural communities.

The fumigation campaign begins in Bade and will be extended to Bursari, Geidam, Jakusko, Nguru, Machina, Yusufari, and Yunusari local government areas, and the exercises will target mosquito breeding sites, public facilities, and residential areas to reduce the menace of malaria in the affected communities.

The fumigation campaign will be monitored across all the participating local government areas to ensure effectiveness, while the health education campaigns will run simultaneously to sensitize residents on the importance of sanitation, using mosquito nets, and environmental cleanliness.

NEAZDP flags off mosquito fumigation in Yobe

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