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Thailand returnee arrested with N3.1billion heroin concealed in six bags at Lagos airport
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… As NDLEA intercepts N22.7billion worth of opioids at Lekki, Apapa, Onne seaports
In a fresh wave of interdiction operations targeting transnational drug cartels, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos have arrested a Thailand returnee Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simonpeter for importing 13.30 kilograms of heroin worth over N3.192billion just as their counterparts at three seaports intercepted large consignments of opioids with a combined monetary value of Twenty Two Billion Seven Hundred and Forty Million Nine Hundred and Fifty Eight Thousand Naira (N22,740,958,000).
Oguejiofor was arrested on Monday 7th October 2024 while attempting to smuggle out of the airport the illicit drug concealed in six backpacks and then packed into two big suitcases.
The 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra state, had left Thailand on 3rd October on Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.
After arriving Lagos on the 5th October, he contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he can pick them up as rush bags in a bit to beat security checks. However, NDLEA officers intercepted him at the point of exit. A search of his two suitcases revealed three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin neatly sewn to all the six backpacks. The six parcels were subsequently recovered with a gross weight of 13.30kg.
In his statement, Oguejiofor claimed he was hired for a fee of $7,000 upon successful delivery of the parcels. He said he was to deliver two parcels in Lagos and the other four parcels in Accra, Ghana.
Meanwhile, a total of Thirty Two Million Six Hundred and Seven Thousand Nine Hundred (32,607,900) pills of tramadol worth over Twelve Billion Five Hundred and Seventy Seven Million Naira (N12,577,000,000) and One Million Four Hundred and Fifty One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety Four (1,451,994) bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of Ten Billion One Hundred and Sixty Three Million Nine Hundred and Fifty Eight Thousand Naira (N10,163,958,000) have been intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state. The combined monetary value of the seized opioids comes to Twenty-Two Billion Seven Hundred and Forty Million Nine Hundred and Fifty-Eight Thousand Naira (N22,740,958,000).
The illicit consignments were seized from containers watch listed by NDLEA based on intelligence and processed for 100 percent joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the three seaports between Monday 7th and Friday 11th October 2024.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Anambra on Saturday 12th October arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha. Also, in Edo state, operatives raided a cannabis transit and loading point at Aviose, Owan West LGA where 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050kg were recovered, while a suspect Monday Akele, 38, was arrested on Friday 11th October in another raid at Owan Village, Ovia North East L GA where 110kg of same substance was seized.
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. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Sacred Heart Girls International Secondary School, Calabar, Cross River; students and teachers of Methodist Girls High School, Utu/Ikpe, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom; students and staff of Federal Government Girls Secondary School, Bida, Niger state; students and teachers of Ekunle High School, Iseyin, Oyo state; students and teachers of St. Theresa Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; students and teachers of Joy Primary and Secondary School, Idogbo, Benin city, Edo state; students and staff of Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja; and WADA advocacy visit to the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Lekki seaport, Apapa, PHPC, Anambra, and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.
Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has replaced his deputy, Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida Arugungu, with a former Commissioner for Finance, Ibrahim Muhammad Augie, as his running mate for the 2027 governorship election.
The decision was announced on Sunday by the All Progressives Congress National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Muhammad Argungu, at the Presidential Lodge in Birnin Kebbi.
Argungu made the announcement during a thank-you visit by political stakeholders from the Argungu Emirate to the governor.
He explained that the change followed legal advice regarding the eligibility of the incumbent deputy governor to contest alongside Idris in the 2027 election.
According to him, Tafida Arugungu was dropped as the governor’s running mate based on the advice received from legal experts.
Argungu subsequently named Augie as the new running mate to Idris, while stressing that the decision was taken with the knowledge and consent of the outgoing deputy governor.
He dismissed speculation of a rift between Idris and Tafida Arugungu, urging APC members and supporters across the state to accept the development and remain united ahead of the 2027 poll.
Speaking to journalists after the event, Idris also denied any disagreement with his deputy, assuring party supporters that he would work with Augie to advance the interests of the state.
Augie, who hails from Augie Local Government Area, served as Commissioner for Finance during the administration of former Governor Atiku Bagudu.
The governor also thanked the people of the Argungu Emirate for their continued support for his administration and called on party members to remain focused on the development of the state.
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, has filed, among nine reliefs, a fresh N10 billion fundamental rights suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that the agency has prevented his wife and son from visiting him in custody.
In the meantime, El-Rufai’s son and representative of Kaduna North Federal Constituency, Mohammed El-Rufai, over the weekend celebrated his father and stepmother, Asia, on their 27th wedding anniversary.
The former minister’s originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 and filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026, by El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also listed the ICPC chairman and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as second and third defendants.
He alleged that his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba el-Rufai, were prevented from accessing him despite an existing court order permitting visits by his family members and legal representatives.
The former governor asked the court to declare that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain enforceable despite his detention by the ICPC.
He alleged that the repeated denial of access to his family members had prevented them from providing him with food, medication and other necessities.
According to him, the alleged restriction violated his rights to dignity, private and family life as guaranteed under Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Also alleging that ICPC officers physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son during an incident on July 7, he asked the court to declare the alleged conduct and continued denial of family access without lawful authority unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
The former governor further sought an order directing the ICPC and other respondents to grant him unhindered and reasonable access to his family and lawyers throughout his detention, in line with an earlier order of the Federal High Court.
According to el-Rufai, the alleged actions had subjected him to “humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress.”
He argued that the respondents’ conduct amounted to an unjustifiable interference with his dignity and family life and was inconsistent with constitutional protections and provisions of the African Charter.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Facebook, Mohammed described his stepmother as the “glue” of the family and praised her for her compassion, intellect and support for vulnerable people.
He recalled how Asia took him back to Zaria Academy when he was in Junior Secondary School 1, describing her as “an avid reader, a brilliant lawyer” and a woman whose compassion extended beyond her immediate family.
He said his stepmother devoted herself to supporting widows and orphans during his father’s tenure as governor, while also crediting her with shaping his values and approach to representing Kaduna North.
“Every good thing we continue to do for Kaduna North is due to the teachings and knowledge she has imparted in me since I was 11 years old. Every bad thing is my fault,” he said.
Reflecting on Asia and his father’s marriage, Mohammed said he had witnessed his stepmother’s unwavering support for his father through different periods of his life. He added that her strength and presence had remained a source of comfort, particularly as his father’s detention continues.
Abdulaziz Umar Ganduje, the eldest son of former Governor of Kano State and ex-National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has returned to the ruling party after a brief defection to the New Democratic Congress (NDC).
On Sunday, Abdulaziz was formally received back into the APC fold at the Ganduje Ward office in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, where he collected his membership card.
Party officials and supporters were present to witness the occasion, which was seen as a reaffirmation of loyalty to the APC structure in Kano.
Abdulaziz had earlier joined the NDC and picked up its nomination form to contest the Dawakin Tofa/Tofa/Rimin Gado Federal Constituency seat. His move was widely interpreted as aligning with the Kwankwasiyya movement of former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a long-time rival of his father.
His return to APC comes after the deadline for obtaining nomination forms had closed, meaning the action was symbolic rather than an immediate electoral bid. It is, however, viewed as a significant step in consolidating the Ganduje family’s political base in Dawakin Tofa.
Kano politics has for years been shaped by the rivalry between Kwankwaso’s Kwankwasiyya movement and Ganduje’s APC faction.
Abdulaziz’s earlier defection was seen as a boost to Kwankwasiyya, while his return strengthens his father’s camp ahead of the 2027 elections.
Finally, Cameroon win first WAFCON trophy, after slamming Malawi 3-0
2027: Gov dumps deputy, picks ex-commissioner as running mate
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