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Another Vietnam-bound businessman excretes 68 wraps of cocaine at Lagos airport +Photos
…. As NDLEA intercepts N2.2billion codeine bottles at Lagos port; smashes 5-member ladies drug trafficking gang, arrests 2 others for online sales of drug laced cookies, cakes in Edo
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
An Onitsha, Anambra state based-businessman, Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, has excreted 68 wraps of cocaine after 12 days of excretion observation following his arrest at the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
The 36-year-old Ibeanusi was arrested in the early hours of Thursday 8th August 2024 at the old domestic terminal of the Lagos airport while attempting to board the first flight out of Lagos to Abuja where he was scheduled to join a Qatar Airways flight to Vietnam at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja at about 10am same day.
The suspect who came under NDLEA surveillance following intelligence had arrived Lagos from his base in Onitsha, Anambra state the previous day, 7th August and lodged in a hotel where he swallowed the 68 wraps of cocaine before heading to the airport for a 6:30am flight the following morning. He was thereafter intercepted by NDLEA operatives who moved him into excretion observation where he spent the next 12 days excreting the cocaine pellets weighing 1.282 kilograms.
Another Vietnam-bound businessman, 54-year-old Paul Okwuy Mbadugha had been arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Abuja airport on Monday 12th August 2024 during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam via Doha after he tested positive to ingestion of cocaine. After four days under observation, Mbadugha egested a total of 88 wraps of the illicit drug with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms.
In the same vein, another Onitsha based businessman, Aligbo Chukwudi Jacob has been arrested by NDLEA operatives following the seizure of a consignment of 1.20kg cannabis concealed in a package going to Dubai, UAE. Operatives at the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency had intercepted the shipment at the export shed of the Lagos airport while investigations revealed the cargo was sent through a courier company in Onitsha. After series of follow up operations, Aligbo was eventually arrested in Onitsha on Saturday 17th August.
Meanwhile, operatives of a Special Operations Unit in NDLEA have arrested five cross-border female drug traffickers at the Seme border while on their way back to Lagos from Ghana. Leader of the syndicate, 42-year-old Olaribigbe Bashirat Feyisara has been under NDLEA radar before being tracked and arrested on Wednesday 21st August along with other members of her gang: Abogun Fatimah Ladidi; Osibeluwo Tolulope Oluwaseun; Akanni Balikis Oluwatoyin and Ajetumobi Amudalat.
At the point of their arrest at the Seme border, a total of 14 packs of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 6.97kg, were recovered from hidden parts of their bodies.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos on Friday 23rd August intercepted two containers which came from Mundra port in India. No fewer than 1,596 cartons of codeine-based syrup containing 319, 200 bottles of the opioid worth Two Billion Two Hundred and Thirty-Four Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira (N2,234,400,000.00) in street value were recovered from the containers during a joint examination with other port stakeholders.
Two ladies were arrested by operatives in Edo state for online sales of illicit drugs.
While Martha Owotorofa, 26, was nabbed at Kada Plaza, Benin city with quantities of Canadian Loud, Odion Uzordinma, 21, was arrested at Ugbowo area of the city with 30 cups of cookies and 17 slices of cake, all laced with illicit substances.
A raid operation at Oghada village, Uhunmwonde local government area of the state on Tuesday 20th August led to the arrest of Saturday Edobor, 50, with 288.8kg cannabis.
In Lagos, a suspect Godwill Davidson was on Wednesday 21st August arrested with 3,834 bottles of codeine syrup; 5,200 pills of Co-Codamol; and 11, 880 tablets of Rohypnol in Mushin area of the state, while another suspect, Yahaya Ibrahim, 23, was nabbed by operatives along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway, Kogi state same day with 42,000 pills of tramadol coming from Asaba, Delta State enroute Potiskum, Yobe state.
Two suspects: Feranmi Bankole, 25, and Fredrick Tobiloba, 25, were on Tuesday 20th August arrested at Pariz Lounge, Adeoyo area in Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State following intelligence. Recovered from them were 267.5 litres of skuchies, a mixture of black currant and assorted illicit drugs and 18 grams of Canadian Loud.
In the same vein, 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. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to pupils of Dan Amus Sangaya school, Sabon Layi, Gombi, Adamawa state; workers of transport companies in Garki Enugu, Enugu state; students and staff of Kaduna State School of Nursing, Kaduna, and WADA advocacy visit to the management of Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Ogun state.
While commending the officers and men of the Special Operations Units, MMIA, Tincan, Lagos, and Edo Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Legislators’ Forum has strongly condemned the latest move by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to secure Senate approval for an additional external loan of $516,333,070, ostensibly for the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway project.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the regional leaders of the Forum: Hon. Uko Ndukwe Nkole ,PhDChairmanADC -National Legislators’ Forum African Democratic Congress (ADC)
Hon Nnenna Ukeje-SEHon Sergius Ogun-SSHon Ajagbe H -SWHon Zakari Mohammed -NCHon Koko Shehu -NWHon Maigari Bello M-NE stating that:
“This request is not only alarming but emblematic of an administration that has made reckless borrowing its default economic policy, with little regard for sustainability, accountability, or the wellbeing of future generations.
“While no responsible opposition undermines the importance of infrastructure development, we must ask: at what cost, and under what conditions? This government has failed to convincingly demonstrate that its endless appetite for loans is guided by a coherent, transparent, and economically viable repayment strategy.
“Instead, Nigerians are witnessing a troubling pattern; one where debt accumulation is prioritized over prudent fiscal management, innovation, and domestic resource mobilization.
“Nigeria is already weighed down by a crushing debt burden, with debt servicing swallowing a staggering proportion of national revenue. Yet, rather than confronting this reality with discipline and reform, the Tinubu administration continues to plunge the country deeper into what can only be described as a looming debt catastrophe. Each new loan tightens the noose around the nation’s economic sovereignty, leaving future generations to pay for today’s lack of foresight.
“Even more disturbing is the timing of this request. As the nation inches closer to a major general election cycle, Nigerians are right to question the motives behind this borrowing spree.
” Is this truly about development, or is it another attempt to create avenues for political patronage and electoral advantage? History has taught us to be wary of last-minute, large-scale financial commitments made under the guise of national interest.
“The ADC Legislators’ Forum insists that the National Assembly must not act as a rubber stamp or Pro group of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in this matter.
“The Senate, in particular, must rise to its constitutional responsibility by demanding full disclosure of the project’s financial details, procurement processes, cost-benefit analysis, and a credible repayment plan.
“Anything short of this would amount to a betrayal of public trust.
“Furthermore, we call on the administration to redirect its focus toward policies that can genuinely strengthen Nigeria’s economy; policies that promote productivity, industrial growth, job creation, and the plugging of revenue leakages.
“Borrowing should never be a substitute for leadership, creativity, and accountability.
“We must clearly state that governance is not a free ride without consequences. Those who make decisions today that endanger the economic future of millions of Nigerians must understand that a day of reckoning will inevitably come. The Nigerian people will demand answers, accountability, and justice for policies that have deepened hardship and mortgaged the nation’s destiny.
“Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads. We can either choose the path of responsibility, discipline, and sustainable growth, or continue down this perilous road of debt dependency and economic vulnerability. The Tinubu administration must decide where it stands; but Nigerians are watching, and history will not be kind to those who fail this nation.
At least one ISWAP fighter has been captured alive while top commander identified as Abu Umar Bundi Munzir has been neutralised alongside 24 other insurgents in Borno.
The development followed a foiled coordinated attack on Kukareta community in Borno by troops of Operation HADIN KAI.
Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, Theartre Commander, North East Operation Hadin Kai, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Maiduguri on Thursday, while providing situational update on the failed attack by ISWAP terrorists.
NAN report that the insurgents launched the attack in the early hours of Thursday, shortly after midnight, in an attempt to overrun the location but were decisively engaged by troops of Sector 2 in a sustained counter-offensive that lasted till about 3;00 a.m.
Abubakar said that during the encounter, the terrorists’ commander, Abu Umar Bundi Munzir, was reportedly among those neutralised as troops repelled the assault and forced the remaining attackers into a disorganised withdrawal.
The theartre commander also confirmed that a total of 24 other terrorists were killed in the operation, bringing the overall neutralised figure to 25.
”Troops subsequently conducted exploitation of the battlefield, leading to the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition, including 18 AK-47 rifles, three General Purpose Machine Guns, two PKT automatic anti-aircraft guns and three RPG tubes.
”Others include two mortar tubes, four hand grenades, 18 AK-47 magazines, and large quantities of belted 7.62mm ammunition,” he said.
According to him, two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds during the encounter and have since been stabilised, while an armoured reinforcement vehicle had its tyres damaged during the firefight.
He added that further exploitation operations were ongoing to recover fleeing terrorists bodies, and abandoned equipment along withdrawal routes reportedly marked by blood trails and medical items.
The commander described the operation as a significant success in ongoing counter-insurgency efforts, noting that sustained pressure would be maintained to deny terrorist elements freedom of action in the North-East theatre.
(NAN)
The All Progressives Congress has officially rescheduled its presidential and governorship primary elections ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Meseko, announced the change in Abuja this Thursday, stating that the presidential primary earlier slated for May 15 and 16 will now hold on May 23, 2026, while the governorship primaries are set for May 21.
Meseko explained that the adjustment was made to align with the revised timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission and the 2026 Electoral Act.
The party also confirmed that nomination forms will be available to all interested aspirants starting this Saturday, April 25 to Saturday, May 2, with no exclusive reservations for any individuals.
APC shifts presidential primary to May 23, 2026, releases revised 2027 election timetable
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