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Nigerian Passports Would be Issued Within Two Weeks- Tunji-Ojo

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Nigerian Passports Would be Issued Within Two Weeks- Tunji-Ojo

By: Michael Mike

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has said that from December passports would be made available in two weeks to applicants.

The Minister also promised that Nigerians would also be saved of the pains of having to wait on the queue to upload the needed information to get passport issued. He said that registration would be done online and the only thing that would be needed to be done at any passport office is the biometrics capture and the collection of issued passports.

He said the ministry is working at getting the needed equipment to make this possible in December

The minister gave the promise during a press briefing where he disclosed to journalists how the ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other stakeholders achieved clearance of 204,332 passports backlogs across the country within three weeks.

The minister said it all started when Mr. President said: “look I didn’t appoint you to that ministry to give excuses, go and change the narratives, especially of passports applications and collections. Nigerians have had enough of that problem. “

He said in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the Ministry of Interior, the NIS, and other stakeholders aligned with “the talk and do” mantra of the present administration.

Tunji-Ojo revealed to journalists how the deadline he handed down on the 7th of September was delivered by the Immigration Service, stating that personnel of NIS had to do three shifts each day including Saturdays and Sundays to deliver.

According to him, the Service providers of the NIS were also made to double up their printing capacities and capabilities, especially in areas where passports backlogs were higher.

The minister said:” Yes. I gave two weeks deadline. I however have to apologise to Nigerians that we delivered on it in three weeks. We had 204,332 Nigerians whose data had been captured. And we cannot continue to watch them waiting endlessly. I visited the headquarters of the Immigration Service and told them the narratives must change.

“So in critical frontline desks like Ikeja, Alausa, Ikoyi, Ibadan, Abuja, we ordered that more printing machines be brought in by the Service providers. Then we increased the working hours of the personnel of NIS. They started running three shifts.

“Let me at this juncture commend the Acting Comptroller General of the Immigration Service, Mrs Wura-Ola Adepoju, especially for her positive responses to the pressures I mounted on her. I would call her late and demand updates, and she would provide updates. That was the spirit. “

Tunji-Ojo however revealed that so far out of the 204,332 backlogs cleared, only 94,981 have been collected by the applicants, leaving 109,351 yet uncollected.

He said while the entire backlogs were cleared as of October 1st, Nigerians should appreciate the extraordinary efforts of those who made it possible by showing up in the various offices of NIS to collect the travel documents.

He regretted that for instance in Ikoyi Passports office, 39,170 backlogs were cleared, only about 9,458 applicants have showed up to collect the booklets. And while 21,108 were cleared in Alausa, a huge number of applicants are yet to show up to collect the documents.

The Minister said to sustain the momentum, the Ministry would embark on some reforms with the NIS, stating that by December this year, Nigerians can upload all supporting documents including their passports online to the Immigration Service.

He said the measures would reduce human interfaces and corrupt practices, while bureaucratic bottlenecks that have been dismantled would not resurface anymore.

According to him, applicants would only show up at Immigration offices for biometric capturing of data as it would reduce applications and collections of passports to two weeks.

Nigerian Passports Would be Issued Within Two Weeks- Tunji-Ojo

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Crime

NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books

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NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment of cocaine concealed in 20 sets of religious books going to Saudi Arabia.

The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday said the cocaine consignment consisting of 20 parcels with a total weight of 500 grammes and buried in the pages of the religious books was uncovered at a courier company in Lagos last Tuesday when NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) were searching through export cargos going to Saudi Arabia at the logistics firm.

Babafemi said at another courier company same day, NDLEA officers intercepted five parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 2.8 kilogrammes hidden in a carton coming from the United States of America.

In Kano, a 22-year-old alleged supplier of illicit substances to bandits, Muhammad Mohammed, has been arrested by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bichi – Kano road while heading to Katsina with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private part with Sellotape.

He was intercepted on Sunday 13th April, while another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was nabbed same day at Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano with 68 blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 30 kilogrammes.

He said not less than 557.2 kilogrammes of skunk, 5.6 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 29.8 grammes of heroin were recovered from a house along Major General Isaiah Alllison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state where four suspects were arrested when NDLEA operatives raided the premises last Wednesday

Babafemi said the four suspects arrested during the raid include: Sarimiye Suwa, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46, while a total of 1,100 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from a delivery van with the driver, Ismail Abdullahi arrested in Surulere area of Lagos last Thursday.

In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives last Friday raided the hideout of a suspect, Ike Ani, 30, in Zaria, where no fewer than 31,950 pills of tramadol 225mg and diazepam were recovered, and in Kebbi, along Bagudo road on the same day a vehicle loaded with bags of charcoal coming from Malabil, Benin Republic was intercepted, when the vehicle was search, 97 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in the sacks of charcoal was recovered.

. Three suspects: Abubakar Ibrahim, 50; Mustapha Aliyu, 32; and Bashar Lawali, 28, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

A 48-year-old Okafor Marcel was nabbed with 11.5 kilogrammes skunk at Abatete, Anambra state while NDLEA operatives in Osogbo, Osun state last Tuesday arrested Ajala Mercy, 27, with 43 litres of skushi, a mixture of black currant, cannabis and opioids recovered from her room at Dada estate, Halleluyah area of the state capital.

Babafemi said two cannabis farms in Egbeta forest, Ovia North East LGA, Edo state were raided by NDLEA operatives who destroyed 3,717.8625 kilogrammes of the psychoactive plant on 1.487145 hectares and recovered 136.5 kilogrammes of processed cannabis.

At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, a suspect Basorun Kayode, 40, who has been at large for two years was arrested by NDLEA officers in connection with the seizure of 107 kilogrammes Loud imported from Canada in 2023, while another suspect, Dauda Yakubu who distributes illicit drugs within the seaport community was arrested by a team of operatives last Monday.

The spokesman said 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 DOGI, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo and Tin-can 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 ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books

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Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno

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Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

A devastating fire broke out at the Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) on April 19, 2025, destroying approximately one hundred thatch and makeshift houses.

Eye witnesses said that the fire started at around 1040hrs and rapidly spread across the settlement, burning household items, foodstuffs, and other valuable properties to ashes.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and the value of the property destroyed is still being assessed.

Humanitarian officials were immediately deployed to the scene to maintain crowd control and prevent looting, while firefighters, alongside camp residents, worked tirelessly to extinguish the flames.
Fortunately, no casualties or loss of life were reported.

Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno

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Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno

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Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

Armed assailants suspected to be members of ISWAP/Boko Haram attacked and snatched a vehicle in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) on April 18, 2025, at about 1400hrs.

Saleh Haun, a resident of the Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, reported that while he was at the Gumnari Bush Area in Monguno, four armed gunmen, riding on two motorcycles, accosted him.

The assailants, at gunpoint, seized his white Toyota Land Cruiser, before fleeing with the vehicle to an unknown location.

A Military Forward Operating Base (FOB) has been alerted, and efforts are underway to to track the assailant and recover the stolen vehicle.

Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno

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