News
Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites
Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites
By: Michael Mike
Scavengers activities have been restricted in and around the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to dumpsites as they have been warned against moving around either during the day or at night in the city.
The present ban followed the criminal activities of some scavengers popularly known as ‘baba nbolas’ in the area.
They have been alleged to be involved in carting away critical infrastructure especially manholes from the expressways in the city.
Parading 36 scavengers who were arrested with dangerous weapons and vandalized items, the Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Dr Olusola Odumosu, said scavengers who roam the streets of FCT, indiscriminately, perpetrate all forms of criminal activities under the guise of scavenging.
According to him, the move by the FCT Administration was necessitated by the need to nip vandalism of public infrastructure such as manhole covers, streetlights, solar panels, armoured cables, and so on, in the bud.
Items recovered from the 36 suspects include four daggers, three jack knives, two chisels, three knives, two pinches and 10 bottles of codeine syrup.
Others are 45 wraps of indian hemps, thrash bags, pieces of iron rods and narcotic drugs.
The scavengers, he explained, go about the nooks and crannies of the city and satellite towns; house-to-house, estate-to-estate, scavenging for plastics, scrap metals and irons.
He said: “But from previous arrests, interrogations and investigations, we have realised that their real business is to vandalise and remove our road infrastructure such as: manhole covers, flood drain covers, streetlights, armoured cables, rail sleepers, iron rods for bridge enforcement and the likes, which would fetch them good money.
“The public also needs to know that some ‘Baba Nbolas’ now disguise to rob innocent commuters and bystanders as they go about with dangerous weapons to attack and disposes them of their personal belongings especially at night. Our record shows that many who dared to challenge them in the past had met their untimely deaths while others are maimed in various parts of the Federal Capital Territory” he said.
Many residents of the FCT and environs, Odumosu noted, have experienced sudden disappearances of many of their household items like generators, cooking pots, stoves, pressing iron, air conditioners, compressors, car batteries, security light panels, iron drain covers and so on.
“Scavengers are major suspects to most of such disappearances and they carry out these activities whenever they notice that there is no one in sight, but not without wielding dangerous weapons in case they are busted by the house owners.
“The most vital is that many of them work as informants for armed robbers, kidnappers, hired assassins, terrorists, bandits a#nd all sorts of criminal gangs. Many families have fallen victims of kidnapping, abduction for ransom, murder, assassination and the likes because they give information about your family, the number of children you have, the types of cars you drive, where you work and by extension, keeping tabs on your movement.
“They (baba nbola) also assess and profile you through the kind of household waste products you dispose which, in most cases, reveal your status and lifestyles.
Unfortunately, and in most cases, many of us perceive these miscreants and criminals as ordinary innocent, poor Nigerians, hustling for their daily bread so they move about unchecked and unquestioned by anyone, some of us even sympathise with them, by extending alms to them, whereas, they are responsible for the various crimes happening around you.
“Owing to these revelation and credible intelligence at our disposal, it is therefore imperative that citizens and residents join hands with the corps and other security agencies to flush out these dangerous elements in the FCT by chasing scavengers away whenever you see them in front of your houses, your streets, neighbourhood or estates.
“The public should note that, although, they appear innocent, armless and vulnerable, most of them are extremely dangerous, their activities are criminal in nature and they constitute threats not only to the safety and security of lives, property and infrastructure in the FCT but to Nigeria’s national security architecture as a whole” he noted.
The commandant used the occasion to advise FCT residents to dispose their refuse properly and stop patronising the Baba Nbolas for the sake of their own safety and that of their family members.
Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites
Hamza Suleiman NAN: Troops recover ammunition during patrol in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have recovered a cache of ammunition during a fighting patrol in Mallam Fatori, Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.
Security sources said the operation was conducted at about 7:30 a.m. on April 18 by troops of 68 Battalion deployed in the area.
The patrol was carried out ahead of the troops’ defensive location toward a suspected withdrawal route used by insurgents following an earlier attack on March 18.
During the operation, troops recovered 166 rounds of PKT linked ammunition and one bandolier.
No contact was made with any terrorist elements during the patrol.
They added that the general security situation across the theatre remains calm but unpredictable, while troops continue to maintain high morale and operational effectiveness.
Hamza Suleiman NAN: Troops recover ammunition during patrol in Borno
News
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intensified their crackdown on drug trafficking networks, intercepting cocaine ingeniously concealed in food flasks and cannabis hidden in snack packs, while arresting multiple suspects including a Lagos-based fashion designer.
The agency in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said 12 large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.8 kilogrammes were uncovered at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Babafemi said the illicit consignment, bound for the United Kingdom via a Virgin Atlantic flight, was discovered in the false bottoms of food flasks on April 9.
He disclosed that two cargo agents—Ama Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Akorede, 39—were arrested at the point of interception, with subsequent investigations leading to the arrest of the alleged sender, 52-year-old freight forwarder Agoro Moninuola.
In a related operation a day earlier, NDLEA operatives at the airport’s import shed intercepted 2.9 kilogrammes of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in snack packs arriving from the United States aboard a Delta Air Lines flight.
He noted that initial arrests of cargo clearing agents Animashaun Adetunji and Mercy Oluwasegun paved the way for the apprehension of the consignee, Saheed Adegoke, a 29-year-old fashion designer, who was later tracked and arrested in Ogba, Lagos.
Beyond the airports, NDLEA operations extended across several states with significant seizures recorded. Along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, operatives intercepted a cement-laden trailer transporting 847 kilogrammes of skunk. The driver, Umar Garba Haruna, was taken into custody.
In Cross River State, a joint operation involving NDLEA officers and security personnel led to the destruction of 15,000 kilogrammes of cannabis cultivated on six hectares of farmland in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area. A suspect, Alice Udoh, 53, was arrested, while 119 kilogrammes of the substance was recovered.
Similarly, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis camp in Ovia North East Local Government Area, destroying over 2,281 kilogrammes of the drug and arresting three suspects. Additional arrests were made in Delta State, where over 87 kilogrammes of skunk and cannabis seeds were seized.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of 11,900 tramadol capsules and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injections along the Mile 2–Badagry expressway, with the consignment reportedly destined for Ghana. A separate raid on a two-storey building in Lagos Island yielded 95.8 kilogrammes of skunk.
Meanwhile, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign nationwide, conducting sensitization programmes in schools, religious centres, and communities across states including Niger, Cross River, Kogi, Katsina, Kano, and Lagos.
Commending the operatives, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the balance between aggressive enforcement and preventive education, urging officers to maintain the current momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
Honouring a Fallen Shield
Ashlee Momoh Foundation Leads Heartfelt Tribute to Fallen Hero Brig. Gen. Braimah
A Tribute to Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah
Issued by the Board of Trustees, Management, and Volunteers of the Ashlee Momoh Foundation Abuja, Federal Capital Territory 
To the family of the late Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah
To the Government and People of Edo State, And to the gallant Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is with heavy hearts and profound sorrow that the Ashlee Momoh Foundation joins the nation in mourning the loss of Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah, who paid the ultimate price following the midnight attack on the 29 Task Force Brigade Headquarters in Benisheikh. His passing, alongside the brave officers and soldiers who fell beside him, leaves a silence that words can scarcely fill.
A Life Defined by Service
General Braimah was more than a soldier. He was a shield for the vulnerable, a steady hand in moments of crisis, and a living testament to the courage that defines the Nigerian spirit. His leadership inspired those under his command, and his devotion to duty protected countless lives he would never meet. To lose a commander of such calibre, together with his courageous troops, is a grief that travels far beyond the frontlines — into the homes, hearts, and hopes of a grateful nation.
To His Family
We recognise that while the nation mourns a General, you mourn a husband, a father, a son, and the quiet pillar of your home. The cost of service is borne most heavily by those left behind, and no public tribute can ease that private weight. We acknowledge the enormity of your sacrifice. The absence of such a man creates a stillness that only time, faith, and love can gently soften. In this dark hour, please know that you do not grieve alone.
To Edo State and Nigeria
Our nation has lost a strategic mind and a fearless protector. His absence will echo in the ranks of the military and in the hearts of every citizen who has slept soundly because of men like him. His death is a solemn reminder of the ongoing cost of our peace — and of the urgent, continuing duty we all share to honour that price through action, unity, and care for those who stand on the frontlines in our name.
Our Commitment
The Ashlee Momoh Foundation was established on a simple, enduring principle: no hero’s sacrifice should result in the neglect of those they loved. Our mission places military families, widows, and vulnerable communities at the centre of our welfare, advocacy, and humanitarian work. We believe the legacy of men like General Braimah must be honoured not only in the words spoken today, but in tangible support sustained across years — in the education of their children, the dignity of their spouses, and the security of the communities for which they gave everything.We stand for a Nigeria where the blood of our heroes becomes the seed of a more secure and compassionate society. We remain firmly dedicated to strengthening the structures that care for our veterans, their dependents, and the families left in the wake of their service, so that the flame of their sacrifice is never allowed to dim.
A Final Word
May the soul of Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah, and the souls of the gallant soldiers who fell with him, rest in perfect peace. May the Almighty comfort his family, strengthen his comrades-in-arms, and grant our nation the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss — and the resolve to be worthy of his sacrifice.
With deepest sympathy and abiding respect,The Board of Trustees, Management, and Volunteers Ashlee Momoh Foundation Restoring Hope, Rebuilding Lives
Ashlee Momoh Foundation Leads Heartfelt Tribute to Fallen Hero Brig. Gen. Braimah*
Hamza Suleiman NAN: Troops recover ammunition during patrol in Borno
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
Again, another Monarch abducted in Kwara state by suspected bandits
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