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NDLEA Arrests Saudi-bound Wanted Drug Lord, Dismantles Laboratory, Recovers 148.3kg Colorado, Precursors

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NDLEA Arrests Saudi-bound Wanted Drug Lord, Dismantles Laboratory, Recovers 148.3kg Colorado, Precursors

… Nabs 73-yr-old grandpa, 70-yr-old grandma in Edo, Bayelsa

By: Michael Mike

A wanted drug lord 40-year-old Yussuf Azeez has been arrested by operatives of a special operations unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos while on his way to Saudi Arabia.

Azeez was arrested on his way for Umrah, a holy pilgrimage, after months of intelligence and surveillance on him and his criminal drug activities.

A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi said the alleged drug kingpin had been arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. Soon after settling down in Lagos, he set up a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area of the state for the production of Colorado, a deadly synthetic cannabis and other illicit substances.

Babafemi said at about 6:30am last Thursday, Yussuf walked into the waiting hands of NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport while attempting to board his flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah. He was subsequently swiftly driven to his 17 Vincent Eku street, Ogombo, Lekki, clandestine laboratory which has been under surveillance for a while.

He was said to be found in company of another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun, at the time of his arrest.

Babafemi said inside the massive building, operatives from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring were able to dismantle all installed laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals and already produced illicit substances including Colorado, all weighing 148.3 kilogrammes.

The spokesman added that at the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA operatives in conjunction with men of Customs Service and other security agencies last Friday discovered 105.5 kilogrammes Molly, a designers drug and 500 grammes of methamphetamine during a joint examination of a shipment.

In Niger state, NDLEA operatives last Thursday intercepted Ibrahim Mohammed, 35, in a Volvo truck marked GRZ 872 XA along Kainji-Wawa road while conveying 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis.

Babafemi said not less than 34,520 capsules of tramadol were found concealed in different compartments of a Toyota Corolla car marked GAN 102 AR intercepted along Zaki-Biam – Wukari road last Monday while the driver Aliyu Samaila, 25, was arrested.

He said the opioids were loaded from Onitsha, Anambra State, and heading to Cameroon. In another operation in Taraba, NDLEA officers last Thursday arrested a suspect Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, with 15,020 capsules of tramadol at Kasuwabera ATC in Ardo Kola local government area.

In Kogi state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway last Wednesday intercepted a consignment of 7.600 kilogrammes Loud, a strong strain of cannabis. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of the owner, Chukwunonso Anieze, 40, while no fewer than 175,000 pills of opioids were recovered from another consignment at the location same day.

Three suspects: Olayide Oyidiran, 39; Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, 28; and Opeyemi Tijjani, 39, were last Wednesday nabbed at Abuja/Kaduna tollgate with 769 kilogrammes skunk being conveyed in a truck marked TRE 897 BE, coming from Lagos en route Owo, Ondo state and heading to Kano.

He said a 73-year-old grandfather James Ugbedo was laat Friday arrested in a cannabis plantation at Igbeshi forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East local government area, Edo state where 1,459.75 kilogrammes skunk was destroyed and 5.6 kilogrammes of same substance evacuated, while 70-year-old grandma Mrs. Comfort Odudu was nabbed at Onopa, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state with 5 kilogrammes skunk last Tuesday.

Babafemi said with the same vigour, 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, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) while commending the officers and men of SOP, DFCM, Tincan, Edo, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger and Bayelsa commands for the various successful operations, enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.

He said: “The dismantling of yet another clandestine laboratory for the production of Colorado and other dangerous synthetic substances and the arrest of the kingpin behind it in Lekki, coming barely a week after similar actions were taken against another cartel in Ajao estate Lagos shows that these are no doubt the first in the series of what will be many strikes against merchants of death who prey on the weak in our communities. Let it be known to those still hiding in the dark that the NDLEA supported by our local and international law enforcement partners will continue to hunt them and bring them to justice.”

NDLEA Arrests Saudi-bound Wanted Drug Lord, Dismantles Laboratory, Recovers 148.3kg Colorado, Precursors

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Zulum Delivers Relief, Cash Support to 434 Ngoshe Residents Rescued from Boko Haram

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Zulum Delivers Relief, Cash Support to 434 Ngoshe Residents Rescued from Boko Haram

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Government has distributed relief materials to 434 indigenes of Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area who were recently rescued by security agencies after spending three months in Boko Haram captivity.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum visited the victims in Pulka on Monday and directed the immediate distribution of food and non-food items to support their recovery and reintegration.

In compliance with the Governor’s directive, the Director General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Ali Abdullahi Isa, promptly supervised the distribution exercise.

Each rescued person received a bag of rice, a bag of maize grits, a mattress, a wrapper, and a shadda, while children received two pairs of clothing.

In addition, 208 heads of households received N50,000 each, fulfilling Governor Zulum’s earlier pledge of financial assistance.

Speaking during the distribution, the SEMA Director General said the intervention was part of the government’s immediate response to ease the hardship faced by the rescued victims.

“I am here at the instance of His Excellency, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, who was here some few days ago, and to deliver the items he directed that it should be given to you as emergency relief,” Ali stated.

The rescued individuals are currently receiving medical care and psychosocial support at a government facility. Upon completion of the rehabilitation process, they will be reintegrated into their respective communities.

The exercise was carried out alongside the Chairman of Gwoza local government, representatives of the Ngoshe community, and other officials.

Zulum Delivers Relief, Cash Support to 434 Ngoshe Residents Rescued from Boko Haram

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Democracy Day: Zulum gives 2 MRAPs, other logistics to Army, celebrates with IDPs

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Democracy Day: Zulum gives 2 MRAPs, other logistics to Army, celebrates with IDPs

By: Michael Mike

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, marked Democracy Day with the handover of two Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and critical logistics to the Nigerian Army, after joining internally displaced persons (IDPs) for a symbolic celebration and distribution of food items to 2,500 beneficiaries.

The armoured MRAPs delivered to the Theatre Command of Operation Hadin Kai on Friday are intended to enhance troop protection against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ambushes which remain a persistent threat in the fight against insurgents. Additional logistics include operational Hilux vehicles and motorcycles for frontline soldiers in difficult terrains.

Zulum also marked Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebration with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Madinatu camp where he distributed food supplies, non-food items, and cash gifts to thousands of beneficiaries.

The distribution, held at the Madinatu IDP camp, served to consolidate Zulum’s resettlement gains. Over the past seven years, Borno State Government has successfully resettled more than 2 million IDPs in their ancestral communities in a dignified and voluntary manner.

“It gladdens my heart today, the 12th of June, 2026, to celebrate June 12th, Democracy Day, here in Madinatu Camp, the only formal camp that is standing inside Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, today, to the glory of God and the benefit of mankind, for the distribution of food and non-food items. Inshallah, this camp will be closed this year. This will be our last distribution exercise in this camp, or the second to the last,” Zulum said.

However, Governor Zulum used the occasion to announce a timeline for the camp’s closure. The governor ordered that Madinatu camp be shut down within one month, vowing to similarly close most IDP camps across various Local Government Areas in the coming phase of his administration’s resettlement strategy.

“Democracy must translate into restoring the dignity of our people,” Zulum told the IDPs. “Living in camps is not a permanent solution. Our goal remains to return every displaced person to their ancestral homes with security and means of livelihood.”

In addition to the food items, Zulum approved N50,000 each for the 2,500 beneficiaries present at the event.

“Each of the 500 beneficiaries mentioned will receive a 25kg bag of rice and a 25kg bag of sorghum. Women will receive wrappers. I also promise to provide 50,000 naira to each beneficiary. This amount can be credited into their own individual accounts, inshallah,” Zulum said.

The exercise was attended by the APC’s State Deputy Chairman, Garba Mulima, APC State Vice Chairman (Central) Abdur Rahman Abdulkarim, Acting Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Mallumbe, Member representing Jere at the State Assembly, Abba Kyari Kolo, commissioners and commissioner designates and several other senior government officials.

Democracy Day: Zulum gives 2 MRAPs, other logistics to Army, celebrates with IDPs

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Gov. Yusuf Commends DSS Over Arrest of Suspected Gun Courier in Kano

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Gov. Yusuf Commends DSS Over Arrest of Suspected Gun Courier in Kano

By: Michael Mike

Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for the arrest of a suspected gun courier intercepted while allegedly transporting weapons believed to be destined for criminal elements in Katsina State.

The commendation was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Thursday, June 12, 2026.

Governor Yusuf described the operation as a major breakthrough in the ongoing fight against banditry, terrorism and other violent crimes threatening communities across Northern Nigeria.

According to information provided by the DSS, the suspect, identified as Muhammad Abubakar, 30, was apprehended in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State while allegedly transporting four rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) tubes, three AK-47 rifles and two empty magazines to Funtua in Katsina State.

Preliminary investigations reportedly revealed that the suspect collected the weapons from an individual identified as Bello in the Maigatari border area of Jigawa State and was expected to receive N450,000 upon successful delivery of the arms.

Governor Yusuf praised the professionalism, vigilance and intelligence-driven approach of DSS operatives, noting that the timely interception prevented the weapons from falling into the hands of bandits and other criminal groups.

He said the operation underscored the critical role of intelligence gathering and effective collaboration among security agencies in tackling emerging security threats across the country.

The governor reaffirmed the commitment of the Kano State Government to supporting security agencies through sustained cooperation, logistics assistance and policies aimed at strengthening public safety throughout the state.

He also urged residents to remain vigilant and continue providing credible information to security agencies to aid efforts to combat crime and maintain peace.

Governor Yusuf expressed confidence that ongoing investigations would lead to the arrest and prosecution of all individuals connected to the alleged arms trafficking network.

The statement was signed by Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Director General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano.

Gov. Yusuf Commends DSS Over Arrest of Suspected Gun Courier in Kano

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