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Just in: NDLEA operatives uncover drugs in serving senator’s house

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it recovered illicit drugs from the personal house of Kwara South Senator, Oyeyola Ashiru, attributing the lawmaker’s recent outburst against the agency to this.

The Senator during plenary on October 15 said: “The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency is corrupt and compromised…” calling for the establishment of another anti-drug agency.

But the chairman of the agency, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (Rtd), during a briefing on Monday, said the Senator’s outburst was borne out of vendetta rather than based on any altruistic motive or national interest.

Represented by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Marwa said the agency remains undeterred as it will continue to dismantle illicit drug networks including the one operating in the lawmaker’s house.

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Babafemi was in the company of NDLEA Area Commander, Offa Area Commander, Kwara State, Ayodeji Olaoluwa and the Officer in charge of Special Enforcement, Kwara State Command during the briefing.

Responding to the accusation, Marwa said: “While acknowledging the great work of the Senate towards the upliftment of Nigeria and Nigerians especially their support for the ongoing concerted efforts towards the amendment of the NDLEA Act, the Agency however is duty-bound to respond to the unprovoked attack against it by Senator Ashiru during his contribution to the debate on a new bill for an Act to establish the National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.”

He said the agency waited for a whole week hoping the lawmaker will clarify his position on such a weighty allegation against it but failing to do that, it is left with “no option than to come out and set the record straight for the benefit of other distinguished members of the Senate, our local and international partners as well as the general public.”

He continued: “There is no doubt that setting up another agency is within the power of the Senate and if we are invited to contribute to the debate we will be willing to offer our opinion.

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“While we cannot fault the power of the senate on that, yet for a member of the upper chamber to have made such an unfounded and unwarranted categorical statement against the agency led us to look inward to see what could have been responsible for such a carpeting general statement.

“What we found was shocking, and we concluded that his statement came from a place of vendetta and certainly not out of public interest or any altruistic motive.

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Kenya: Lion kills 14-year-old girl, elephant kills man in separate incidents

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A lion killed a 14-year-old girl outside Kenya’s capital Nairobi while an elephant killed a 54-year-old man in the central part of the country, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said this weekend.

The attack on the girl occurred on Saturday in a ranch to the south of Nairobi National Park.

The attack was witnessed by another teenager, who raised the alarm, the KWS said in a statement.

“KWS rangers and response teams were swiftly mobilized and traced bloodstains leading to the Mbagathi River, where the girl’s body was recovered with injuries on the lower back,” the conservation agency said in a statement.

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“The lion was not sighted at the scene,” it added.

It said a trap had been set for the lion and teams deployed to comb the area, along with additional safety measures.

The KWS said a 54-year-old man had also been killed by an elephant in Kenya’s Nyeri County on Friday. The agency gave no further details about that incident.

“KWS conveys its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and continues to work closely with local law enforcement and communities to enhance the safety of people living near protected wildlife areas,” it said in the statement.

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It called for more investment in “human-wildlife conflict mitigation”, including early warning systems and greater collaboration with affected communities.

In a statement to the BBC Paula Kahumbu, head of the WildlifeDirect conservation group, urged Kenya Wildlife Service to improve “risk assessments and ensure accurate, real-time communication of wildlife movement and behavior, especially in known high-risk areas such as Savannah Ranch,” where the girl was killed.

Last year, police in Kenya recovered the body of a man believed to have been attacked by a lion while he was riding a motorcycle near a national reserve in the south of the country.

The lion population was declining in Kenya just over a decade ago, primarily due to human-wildlife conflict. The government listed lions as endangered, with an estimated population of 2,000 in 2010. A more recent survey put the number at 2,489.

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In 2023, 11 lions were speared to death in just one week — including one of Kenya’s oldest wild lions — by herders after the big cats killed their livestock.

Last year, the BBC reported CCTV footage captured the moment a lion snatched a Rottweiler dog from another home near Nairobi National Park

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Celebrity boxing: Speed Darlington wants rematch after losing to Portable

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigerian singer Speed Darlington is calling for a rematch against Portable after losing to him in a celebrity boxing match.

Speed Darlington was knocked out in the second round, and he’s unhappy about the outcome.

In a video, he claimed Portable didn’t deserve the win and the prize money, saying he had plans to use the money to build a swimming pool for his community in Imo State.

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Portable, I want a rematch. E dey pain me say you dey carry all that money dey go. E dey break my heart.

” I want a rematch. It’s so unfair. You have up to two experience before me and you fight. I never enter ring before. I did not come from poverty,” he said.

“You don’t deserve that money. E dey pain me. I want to build swimming pool for my villagers. I need a rematch, Portable”, he said.

According to Speed Darlington, Portable had an unfair advantage due to his experience, accusing him of using supernatural means to win the fight.

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He also claimed he suffered a shoulder injury during the match despite not feeling tired.

Speed Darlington, who wants a rematch, said he needs 30 days to prepare better

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Israel’s remote controlled bulldozers breaking ground in Gaza war

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At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver’s cabin is eerily empty.

This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama.

Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer — the robotic version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer — is the future of automated combat.

The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like trowelling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain.

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But since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops.

“The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer,” said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer.

An unmanned D9 bulldozer digs up a field during a demonstration to the press at the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) quarters near Tel Aviv on March 26, 2025. Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks “even better than a human”, said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons.

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While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war.

‘Changing the paradigm’
Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law.

Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends towards automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones.

An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare”.

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