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NDLEA Arrest Worldwide Watchlisted Drug Baron with N1.4 billion Illicit Drugs

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NDLEA Arrest Worldwide Watchlisted Drug Baron with N1.4 billion Illicit Drugs

By: Michael Mike

After 17 years on the watchlist of anti-narcotics agency, a 59-year-old drug baron Ogbonnaya Kevin has been unearthed by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) from his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos State.

The notorious baron was said to have hatched numerous plans that led to shipment of illicit drugs across the world, whose worth are put at billions of naira.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) detailed how operatives of its Special Operations Unit had been on the trail of Ogbonnaya following an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

According to Marwa: “The major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord who’s wanted across the world as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation. I am therefore pleased to announce this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country.

“As we have said four years ago when we began the reform of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organise drug trafficking rings.

“On Wednesday, 12th February 2025, we achieved that objective in the successful arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, a 59-year-old drug baron. The suspect was arrested at his hideout at No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos. He has been under NDLEA investigation before his arrest.

“As a result, we have comprehensive intelligence on his activities, and incontrovertible facts that he is a notorious drug lord who recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
“Our records reveal that many Nigerians apprehended outside the country for drug-related offences were linked to him. Furthermore, we have established that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods. Following his arrest, a search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports belonging to different individuals, many of which contained Korean visas. Additionally, we recovered some illicit substances in a storehouse at the back of his house.”
While unmasking the suspect’s leadership role in the drug underworld, the NDLEA boss said “Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad. His dossier indicates that he served a one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008. Despite this, he continued his illicit trade, remaining actively involved in drug trafficking operations to the Far East.

“Presently, he is wanted in the Republic of Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences in collaboration with his accomplices. An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition to the country for offences committed between 2023 and 2024. From a series of interdictions, it has been established that Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is the ringleader of a drug trafficking organisation responsible for smuggling narcotics into the People’s Republic of Korea. He has been orchestrating operations remotely by giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries.”

Marwa further gave insights into what investigations had unearthed about Ogbonnaya’s illicit trade activities. “On 5th October 2023, at a location in Burkina Faso, the suspect dispatched 6,051.06 grams of skunk, concealed in dried chillies and jujube, to a Korean, Kim Dong Wook at a designated address in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. The package arrived at Incheon Airport on 19th October 2023 at 07:20 am via Air France.

“Investigation reveals that while residing in Nigeria, he directed his drug couriers, Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman, to smuggle a total of five kilograms of methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights, between December 2023 and April 2024. In recent time alone, he has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4billion in street value to South Korea.

“Ogbonnoya maintains another domestic carrier, identified as “Asa”, who delivers for him drug consignments to a warehouse operated by Okori Emmanuel, a Nigerian who is his supply manager in South Korea. As of now, two arrest warrants have been issued against Ogbonnaya by the Seoul Central District Court in January and June 2024. These warrants charge him with importing narcotic drugs in violation of Article 3-7 of South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, an offence punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.”

Marwa assured of NDLEA’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking operations. “We will continue our relentless fight against illicit drug networks and their financiers, in line with our mandate to safeguard public health and national security. The arrest of Ogbonnaya is therefore an affirmation of our resolve to work with our international partners to ensure no drug baron finds Nigeria a comfort zone to distribute illicit substances within the country or traffic them to other countries.”

NDLEA Arrest Worldwide Watchlisted Drug Baron with N1.4 billion Illicit Drugs

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Exclusive: How bandit kingpin Jankare was killed in Katsina

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Exclusive: How bandit kingpin Jankare was killed in Katsina

By: Zagazola Makama

Fresh fact have emerged how the Notorious bandit kingpin, Kachalla Abdurrahman Jankare, was killed by a rival in an internal dispute in Tsaskiya village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Reliable security and local sources Zagazola Makama that Jankare was gunned down on Thursday by a fellow bandit identified as Nazanku, a trusted ally of another notorious bandit leader, Dan Ori.

The incident, sources said, stemmed from a feud over the seizure of a rifle and a bag containing magazines belonging to Nazanku.

“Last week, Jankare seized Nazanku’s rifle, and just yesterday, he also took a bag in which he kept magazines. This provoked Nazanku, who confronted him and shot him dead,” one of the sources said.

Only seven people reportedly attended Jankare’s funeral prayer before he was buried later in the day.

Until his death, Kachalla Jankare was one of the most feared lieutenants of the late Kachalla Usman Modi Modi and was linked to several deadly attacks and kidnappings in Dutsinma, Safana, and Kurfi Local Government Areas of Katsina State.

His death is said to have triggered renewed tension among rival bandit factions across the northwest forest axis.

Exclusive: How bandit kingpin Jankare was killed in Katsina

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JNIM claims first attack in Kwara, four months after announcing new brigade

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JNIM claims first attack in Kwara, four months after announcing new brigade

By: Zagazola Makama

Al-Qaeda–linked militant group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for an attack in Kwara State, its first in Nigeria, four months after announcing the establishment of a new brigade in the country.

According to intelligence sources, the attack reportedly occurred in the northern part of Kwara, along the border corridor linking Niger and Kogi States.

JNIM, which operates mainly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, announced in June the creation of a new brigade for Nigeria, raising concerns about a possible southward expansion of jihadist influence.

Zagazola said that the claim aligns with earlier intelligence warnings of cross-border infiltration through smuggling routes connecting Benin Republic and Niger.

“JNIM’s latest statement describes the attack as the debut operation of its Nigerian brigade. If verified, this would indicate a dangerous evolution of the regional threat landscape,” the source said.

Security operatives in Kwara, Niger, and Kogi States should intensify patrols and surveillance in response to the development, with reinforcements deployed to border communities.

Military and intelligence agencies should work to identify possible linkages between JNIM operatives and local extremist networks.

The incident comes amid heightened regional insecurity and the continued fragmentation of terror groups across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

JNIM claims first attack in Kwara, four months after announcing new brigade

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ISWAP ambush mobile police patrol team in Yobe

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ISWAP ambush mobile police patrol team in Yobe

By: Zagazola Makama

Suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Wednesday ambushed a mobile police patrol team along the Bara–Gulani axis of Yobe State, inflicting injuries on two officers and carting away a rifle.

Zagazola learnt the ambush occurred at about 5:00 p.m. while the team, comprising operatives from 19 PMF on special duty in Bara and 79 PMF Buni Yadi, was responding to a distress call from Kojoli village in Gulani Local Government Area.

It was gathered that the officers had been alerted by residents after armed herders reportedly invaded local rice farms and destroyed crops. The patrol team, led by ASP Sunday Yunana, moved to the scene but came under heavy attack from the assailants.

The insurgents, believed to be operating under the ISWAP faction, opened fire using assault rifles and other weapons before retreating into the bush.

Two personnel, identified as Sgt. Abdullahi Aminu and Cpl. Aliyu Suleiman, sustained machete injuries during the exchange, while one of their rifles was initially seized by the attackers.

However, the team reportedly fought back, recovering the stolen weapon and dispersing the attackers after an intense gun battle. A large herd of cattle suspected to have been used by the assailants to cover their movement was also recovered.

The wounded officers were evacuated to the General Hospital in Bara for treatment, while security reinforcements were deployed to the area to forestall further attacks.

ISWAP ambush mobile police patrol team in Yobe

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