Crime
NDLEA Arrests Church General Overseer, Theology Student over Dubai-bound meth, skunk

NDLEA Arrests Church General Overseer, Theology Student over Dubai-bound meth, skunk
By Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested the Founder and General Overseer of Seraphic and Sabbath Assembly, Lagos, High Priest Nnodu Azuka; a student of Emmanuel College of Theology, Samanta, Ibadan, Udezuka Udoka and their freight agent, Oyoyo Mary Obasi over attempt to export methamphetamine and skunk consignments concealed in kegs of palm oil through the NAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to Dubai, United Arab Emirate.

According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, High Priest Nnodu was arrested last Saturday at his Seraphic and Sabbath Assembly church located at No 1, Sabbath Close, Ijesha area of Lagos following the arrest of two suspects: Oyoyo Obasi and the theology student, Udezuka Udoka last Thursday at the Lagos airport in connection with the seizure of 283 parcels of skunk weighing 14.9 kilogrammes and 204 grammes of methamphetamine concealed in four 25-litre kegs of palm oil for export to Dubai.
Udoka, had in her statement indicted the General Overseer of her new-found church, Nnodu and his son, Chisom Obi, who is now at large as the persons that gave her the consignments for export, alleging that she was compelled to take an oath of secrecy as well as engaged in a sacrifice of chicken in the church while High Priest Nnodu prayed for her for the success of the transaction.

Udoka claimed her church’s GO and son used threats to compel her to take the job after they knew she had known their secrets, adding that High Priest Nnodu was always referring to the illicit drugs as Ice and Bible, (Street names for Methamphetamine and Cannabis) in their telephone text message chats.
The theology student, Udezuka, she said was introduced to her to assist because she was new in the illicit business.
On interrogation, Udezuka said he was paid N2 million for his role and had to do it because he needed the money for his education.

Another attempt to send a consignment of skunk and tramadol 225mg to the UAE by a Dubai-returnee, Nnamani Innocent was also frustrated by the NDLEA operatives following his arrest at Trade Fair complex in Ojo area of Lagos, where he had gone in company of his friend Nwanana Ikechukwu with the cargo to a freight company to process the consignment for export last Tuesday.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives attached to the SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport on the same day intercepted a cargo going to London, United Kingdom.
In the consignment containing food items packed in a carton, the four walls of the carton were used to conceal 1.1 kilogrammes of methamphetamine while the freight agent, Agholor Emmanuel, who presented the cargo for export was immediately arrested.
Also, NDLEA operatives last Tuesday intercepted a consignment of 1,340 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa coming from Ogbese, Ondo state in a liquified natural gas truck to Okurikang Okoyong in Odukpani local government area of Cross River State.
Babafemi said following credible intelligence, the movement was monitored for three weeks and upon arrival, 130 bags of cannabis weighing 1.430 tons were recovered from the LNG truck and 13 motorcycles which were hired by the cartel to convey the consignment deep into the forest.
In Kano, four suspects: Ado Shuaibu; Yahaya Shuaibu; Mamman Sani and Umar Yakubu were arrested in connection with the seizure of 229 blocks of skunk weighing 131.1 kilogrammes, while Umar was arrested last Tuesday at Tumfafi village, Kano. The trio of Ado, Yahaya and Mamman were nabbed last Saturday at Garin Balarabe, Maigatari, Jigawa state in a follow up operation.
Another suspect, Aisha Muhammad was arrested in Koki area of Kano with 17 kilogrammes cannabis.
Babafemi said no fewer than four members of a syndicate using dispatch motorcycles to distribute illicit drugs in Lekki area of Lagos were arrested on Sunday 5th February. They include: Tijani Oladapo; Eric Maku; Ahmed Olamide and Adobi Fortune. He said at the time of their arrest, 1.88 kilogrammes of Loud and assorted paraphernalia were recovered from them.
He added that 79.1 kilogrammes skunk were seized during a raid in Patey area of Lagos Island last Tuesday by NDLEA operatives, and a total of 2,370.06 kilogrammes of cannabis and two boats seized at a jetty in Lagos by men of Civil Defence Corps were handed over to the Lagos command of the agency.
Meanwhile, in his reaction to the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers, men and women of the MMIA, Cross River, Kano, and Lagos commands for their commitment and professionalism towards ridding Nigeria of the menace of illicit drugs. He however said the agency will continue to target anyone or group involved in the criminal trade without fear or favour even as he urged all NDLEA officers across the country to remain unrelenting in the pursuit of the corporate goal.
Crime
NDLEA Recovers Cocaine, Loud from Microwaves, Lipsticks at Lagos Airport, Nabs Wanted Drug Kingpin

NDLEA Recovers Cocaine, Loud from Microwaves, Lipsticks at Lagos Airport, Nabs Wanted Drug Kingpin
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in microwaves imported from Thailand and wraps of cocaine built into ladies’ lipsticks going to Guinea at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, said the Loud consignment was part of a consolidated cargo that came in two tranches on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He said based on credible intelligence, the cargo was subjected to thorough search during which 23 parcels of loud weighing 11.3 kilogrammes concealed in new microwaves were recovered last Monday, disclosing that a suspect Ezenwegbu Chike has been arrested in connection with the seizure.
He noted that barely a week after a total of 420 grammes of cocaine factory fitted in 84 pieces of female lipsticks heading to the UK were seized at a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Lagos airport have intercepted another consignment of cocaine built into ladies’ lipsticks as part of a cargo containing hair attachments, face powder, and other items heading to Malabo, Guinea.
Babafemi said no less than 400 grammes of cocaine and phenacetine, a cutting agent, were recovered from the lipsticks when dismantled while a businessman at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos, Ezeikwelume Afam was arrested last Friday in connection with the seizure.
The spokesman said a notorious drug kingpin Okechukwu Izugha (a.k.a Okey Omeogo) has been arrested in Lagos by operatives of a Special Operations Unit of NDLEA after 12 months of going into hiding. He was nabbed last Wednesday at his wife’s shop in Ijesha market.
He said Izugha came under NDLEA radar on 7th August 2024 after a 9 kilogrammes cocaine was recovered from a suspect Obiora Agudosi at a motor park in Orile, Lagos while going to deliver the consignment in the southeast. Izugha was identified as the owner of the seized drug.
Babafemi said in the course of investigating the kingpin and his network, his wife Maureen Izugha was arrested with 500 grammes of cocaine at her beverages store in Ijesha market on 21st January 2025. She was thereafter arraigned in court, convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Unknown Izugha that NDLEA was still on his trail, he came out of his hiding and was promptly arrested last Wednesday.
Babafemi said in Edo state, no fewer than 28,054.053 kilogrammes of skunk, a local strain of cannabis, were destroyed on three farms measuring over 11 hectares at Ewere Uzebba forest in Owan West local government area last Tuesday, while 82 kilogrammes of already processed cannabis was recovered from the location.
He disclosed that the NDLEA operatives who went for the operation however came under gun attack from armed members of the cartel on their way out of the forest. They were able to repel the attack and came out unhurt while one of their operational vehicles was riddled with bullets.
In Lagos, 1,400 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 700 kilogrammes and a Ford delivery truck marked JJJ 698 YJ were recovered at Okun -Ajah Beach, while two suspects: Innocent Ejidiobo and Friday Paul were nabbed along Ajah -Epe expressway by NDLEA operatives last Friday.
Recovered from them include: 26 kilogrammes Ghana Loud, 123 grammes of methamphetamine and 45 grammes of Molly as well as their delivery van with registration number AJK 191 LG.
NDLEA operatives in Borno state on Saturday arrested Godwin Nwaobi, 42, with 18,759 ampoules of pentazocine, pills of tramadol and rohypnol at Njimtilo, Maiduguri, coming on the heels of the seizure of 10,000 pills of tramadol from another suspect Abdulrahman Ahmadu, 34, last Wednesday, their counterparts in Gombe state recovered a total of 116,226 pills of tramadol and D-5 from five suspects: Hafiz Bello, 22; Isah Suleman, 48; Kabiru Muhammed, 30; Abdullahi Adamu, 30; and Abel Murna, 25, at Gombe main market and along Gombe-Kano road last Tuesday and last Saturday.
A suspect, Sabiu Bala was last Thursday arrested along Okene-Lokoja expressway in Kogi state while conveying 316.6 kilogrammes skunk, while another suspect Haladu Suleiman, 38, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 58.805 kilogrammes of same substance in Gubuchi area of Ikara local government area, Kaduna state.
In Taraba state, three suspects: Auwal Ibrahim, 30; Lukman Ibrahim, 18; and Hamza Adamu, 25, were on Saturday arrested by NDLEA officers at Lanka Viri checkpoint while conveying 577,890 pills of opioids and 1.16 kilogrammes skunk concealed in tyre compartment of a petrol tanker marked MUB 334 YH. The arrest of the trio last Tuesday, according to Babafemi, followed credible intelligence.
He said three other suspects: Shamsudini Abdullahi, 35; Adamu Abdullahi,21; and Magaji Rabo, 26, were nabbed with 48.1 kilogrammes skunk at Janguza barracks area of Kano state by NDLEA operatives last Wednesday.
He noted that 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, SOU, Edo, Lagos, Taraba, Kano, Kogi, Gombe, Borno and kaduna commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally 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.
NDLEA Recovers Cocaine, Loud from Microwaves, Lipsticks at Lagos Airport, Nabs Wanted Drug Kingpin
Crime
Massacre in Karta: Suspected EIGS militants kill 11 civilians shortly after military withdrawal in Niger Republic

Massacre in Karta: Suspected EIGS militants kill 11 civilians shortly after military withdrawal in Niger Republic
By: Zagazola Makama
At least 11 civilians were brutally killed in Karta village, Téra Department of Tillabéri Region, Niger Republic, in a fresh attack allegedly carried out by suspected Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) militants, shortly after the withdrawal of a military detachment from the area.
Zagazola gathered that the attack occurred on Thursday, July 11, at about 6:00 p.m., barely 15 minutes after Nigerien troops vacated the area.
Sources said the assailants arrived on the same road used by the military convoy during their departure, suggesting a possible overlap or close proximity.
“They arrived just after the soldiers had left. On the same road. They weren’t stopped. They opened fire. They killed. And no one came back,” a local resident said.
No exchange of gunfire reportedly occurred between the soldiers and the attackers. Residents allege that the terrorists passed unhindered, and no security response followed the gunshots that echoed through the village during the massacre.
The victims have been identified as: Seydou Kango, Ali Alhadey, Fataou Oudou, Yacouba Karidjo, Abass Hamadou, Soumana Hamadou Sabbou, Ginda Tondi, Souleymane Yéyio, Mohamed Seydou Abdul and two others of Tara Bango Banda origin, yet to be formally identified.
Tillabéri region has in recent months become a hotspot for jihadist violence, with EIGS fighters regularly launching deadly raids on villages such as Mehana, Fanbita, Kokorou, and Satchirbangou.
The continuous attacks have fueled a deepening distrust among citizens, many of whom now accuse the military-led junta of abandoning them to terrorists.
Despite repeated assurances of improved security by Niger’s ruling military authorities, civilians across the region say they feel unprotected and betrayed.
Tillabéri region sits at the tri-border area of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, where jihadist insurgencies linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have continued to destabilize communities and challenge state authority.
Massacre in Karta: Suspected EIGS militants kill 11 civilians shortly after military withdrawal in Niger Republic
Crime
Three killed in communal clash between Garun-Gabas and Yakila communities in Niger

Three killed in communal clash between Garun-Gabas and Yakila communities in Niger
By: Zagazola Makama
Atleast three persons were killed following a violent communal clash between Garun-Gabas and Yakila communities in Rafi Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the clash erupted on Friday during a reconciliation meeting convened by the District Head of Yakila at his palace to address lingering tensions between the two communities.
The crisis began when a youth from Garun-Gabas, who came to attend the peace meeting, was attacked by some youths from Yakila. Policemen stationed at the Yakila Outstation intervened and rescued the victim.
However, the situation quickly escalated into a full-blown clash, as youths from Yakila turned on the security personnel and attempted to set fire to a military Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC).
Military reinforcements from Garun-Gabas and Tegina were deployed to restore order, but in the ensuing violence, two individuals – Adamu Yola of Garun-Gabas and Alhaji Samaila Suleman of Yakila – were killed.
Another victim, identified as Abdu, popularly known as “Pure Water,” collapsed during the incident and was rushed along with another injured individual, Yahaya Lala of Yakila, to Dr. Frank Clinic in Tegina. Abdu was later confirmed dead, bringing the total number of fatalities to three.
Police sources say that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Kagara, alongside a patrol team and 12 Police Mobile Force operatives from Tegina, moved to the area and succeeded in bringing the situation under control.
The corpses were released to their families for burial in accordance with Islamic rites after they declined post-mortem examinations.
The Command said surveillance and monitoring efforts have been intensified in the affected areas to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
End
-
News1 year ago
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions3 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions4 years ago
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News1 year ago
EYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
Columns1 year ago
Army University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
ACADEMICS1 year ago
A History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Opinions1 year ago
Tinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
-
Politics1 month ago
2027: Why Hon. Midala Balami Must Go, as Youths in Hawul and Asikira/Uba Federal Constituency Reject ₦500,000 as Sallah Gift