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NCoS denies stealing inmates’ valuables in Kuje raid
The Nigerian Correctional Service has denied allegations that its officers stole valuables belonging to inmates during a routine search operation at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, Abuja.
The Service described the reports as false, misleading and inconsistent with established custodial procedures, insisting that the operation was conducted professionally and in line with Standard Operating Procedures.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Service Public Relations Officer, Jane Osuji, the NCoS said the exercise was a routine security search aimed at maintaining order, discipline and security within the facility, adding that all recovered prohibited items were duly processed and documented.
It also dismissed claims that inmates were robbed of valuables reportedly worth over N120m, saying the allegations were not supported by official records.
“The Service wishes to categorically state that the allegation is false, misleading, and inconsistent with the operational realities and established procedures governing custodial facilities in the country,” the statement said.
According to the NCoS, inmates are not permitted to keep unauthorised items or large sums of money in custody, noting that all personal belongings declared at the point of admission are documented and safely kept until lawful release.
It further stated that records from the custodial centre did not show that any of the items mentioned in the reports were declared by inmates, nor were such items found or recorded during the search operation.
“For the avoidance of doubt, what took place at the Custodial Centre in Kuje was a routine security search carried out within the facility, and all recovered prohibited items were duly processed and documented. The exercise was conducted professionally and in line with extant Standard Operating Procedures aimed at maintaining security, order, discipline and the integrity of custodial operations.
“The Nigerian Correctional Service operates under clearly defined regulations which prohibit inmates from keeping personal unauthorised items and large sums of money while in custody,” the statement said.
The Service also said no complaint of theft or loss had been filed through any official channel by inmates or any other persons within the facility.
“The Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, is calm, peaceful and secure,” the statement added.
The response comes amid a report by SaharaReporters alleging that some high-profile inmates were affected during the search operation at the facility.
According to the report, former Skye Bank Chairman, Tunde Ayeni, was allegedly robbed of a wedding ring and wristwatch valued at over N120m during the operation.
The report also claimed that suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, lost about N2m.
It further alleged that the operation was carried out by senior correctional officers accompanied by operatives and DSS dogs, causing panic within the facility, and that valuables were confiscated without proper documentation.
However, the NCoS dismissed the claims in their entirety, maintaining that the search was lawful and that no evidence supports the allegations.
The Service urged the public and media organisations to verify information through official channels before publication, warning against the spread of unverified claims capable of undermining confidence in public institutions.
The NCoS reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, professionalism and ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening security and accountability across custodial centres nationwide.
Pope Leo XIV has warned against the potential risks of artificial intelligence, urging governments and societies to ensure that rapid technological advancement does not come at the expense of human dignity and values.
The Pope issued the warning during his four-day visit to France, where he addressed French government and Catholic officials at the Élysée Palace in Paris after meeting President Emmanuel Macron.
Pope Leo cautioned against “losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines,” stressing the need to keep human beings and their dignity at the centre of technological development.
His remarks come amid growing global debate over the impact of artificial intelligence on society, employment, education and human relationships.
The Pope’s visit to France is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people, with more than 500,000 expected to attend Mass in Paris on Saturday.
French authorities have stepped up security around the Champs-Élysées and other parts of the capital ahead of the major events. An altar has also been erected at the Place de la Concorde for the Mass.
Pope Leo arrived at Orly Airport on Friday, where he was received by Macron. He is expected to travel through Paris in the popemobile, with large crowds anticipated along his route to Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Macron is not expected to attend the Pope’s Masses because of France’s strict separation of church and state. His wife, Brigitte Macron, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu are, however, expected to attend Saturday’s service.
Other senior French political figures, including Marine Le Pen, Édouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal and Bruno Retailleau, are also expected to be present.
Officials at the Élysée Palace have dismissed reports of tensions between the French presidency and the Vatican over the Pope’s visit.
French officials said the government had offered Pope Leo several ceremonial engagements traditionally arranged for visiting heads of state. However, he reportedly declined Macron’s proposal to meet artisans involved in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral, citing a busy schedule.
After visiting Notre-Dame on Friday, the Pope is expected to meet about 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.
On Sunday, around 150,000 people are expected to attend Mass at the Catholic sanctuary of Lourdes in the Pyrenees.
Pope Leo will conclude his visit on Monday in Metz, northeastern France, where he is expected to honour Robert Schuman, one of the founding figures of the European Union and a Catholic currently being considered for beatification.
. As Agency presses 22-count charges over UK-bound drug haul
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday 25th September 2026 arraigned Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, and two other accomplices, Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, before Hon. Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a 22-count charge bordering on cocaine trafficking, illegal export of narcotics and money laundering.
The defendants, who were accused of conspiring between 28th July and 1st August 2026 to export 184.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in five consignments through a Lagos-based courier logistics firm to London, United Kingdom, pleaded not guilty to all counts when the charges were read to them.
Count one of the charge sheet, marked FHC/LAG/CR/755/2026, accuses Afolabi, alongside Boniface and Ikechukwu, of conspiring with Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, already arrested in London in connection with the same case, to export the narcotic drug using consignments bearing Airway Bill Numbers 2079998314, 8224082370, 2079973571, 7181131742 and 2211893902, under the shipper’s name Yemi Ejide.
Other counts detail how Boniface procured Ikechukwu to facilitate the export while Afolabi is accused of procuring a staff member of BOT Express Logistics on Lagos Island to process the illicit consignment, and of unlawfully possessing the cocaine ahead of export.
The charge sheet further links Afolabi to the payment of ₦13.2 million from a Mallamawa Ventures Zenith Bank account to BOT Express Logistics as consideration for the shipment.
On the financial trail, no fewer than sixteen counts bordering on money laundering, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022, accuse Afolabi of funnelling several billions of naira through a web of companies and personal accounts, including Mallamawa Ventures, Fateey Man Multi-Purpose Nig. Ltd, Patonifa Ltd, Ade-Lak Resources, Holmestas Global Services Limited, La Capital Enterprises and others, with the funds used, among other things, to acquire motor vehicles and various landed properties, in a bid to conceal the true origin of the proceeds of the illicit trade. He is also alleged to have failed to declare his assets to the Agency as required by law.
After the not-guilty plea was entered and their bail application argued, the NDLEA prosecutor Abu Ibrahim who opposed the bail application prayed the court to remand the defendants in a correctional facility pending trial, citing the gravity of the offences. Justice Faji thereafter ordered that the defendants be remanded in the Agency’s facility, and adjourned the matter till 4th October 2026 for ruling on the application.
Afolabi, (a.k.a. KayCee Luxury, KayCee Lux, KC, Mr. Luxury, Yemi Ejide) who paraded himself online as a luxury goods dealer and lifestyle influencer, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on the night of 13th August 2026 as he attempted to flee Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, following the interception of the 184.5kg cocaine consignment estimated to be worth about N39 billion. A subsequent search on him and his Banana Island apartment led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, foreign currency and jewellery believed to be proceeds of the illicit trade.
Count one of the charge reads: “That you: 1. Afolabi Kazeem Michael a.k.a. KayCee Luxury, KC, Yemi Ejide, 2. Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and 3. Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, Male,
Adults, on or about the period between the 28t July 2026 and 1s day of August
2026 conspired with the duo of Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat
Yusuf (both of whom have been arrested in London, the United Kingdom in
respect of this case) to export 184.5 Kilograms of Cocaine, a Narcotic Drug
contained in five (5) consignments with Airway Bill Numbers 2079998314,
8224082370, 2079973571, 7181131742, 2211893902 with shipper’s name as
‘Yemi Ejide’ and you thereby committed an act which is an offence against and
punishable under section 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
Act Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
This is Chukuku, along Kuje – Gwagwalada road, Kuje Area Council of the FCT.
Wike don reach here.
Watch:
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