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Canadian lady nabbed at Lagos airport as NDLEA intercepts N9b worth opioids in Rivers

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. Recovers large consignments of illicit drugs in Ikorodu warehouse, commercial bus in Taraba

A 41-year-old Canadian lady Adrienne Munju has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for importing large consignment of ‘Canadian Loud’, a strong strain of synthetic cannabis.

The suspect was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on KLM airline flight from Canada at the terminal 1 of the Lagos airport on Thursday 3rd October 2024. During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne who was coming to Nigeria for the first time was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilograms stuffed in two of her three bags.

In her statement, she claimed she was recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos. She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing master’s degree programme in Canada.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports, Onne, Rivers state have intercepted Thirteen Million Two Hundred and Ninety Eight Thousand (13,298,000) pills of opioids including Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol and Carisoprodol as well as Three Hundred and Thirty Eight Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Three (338, 253) bottles of codeine based cough syrup, all worth over Nine Billion Seventeen Million Seven Hundred and Seventy One Thousand Naira (N9,017, 771,000) in street value.

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The opioids were recovered in three containers coming from India, targeted by the NDLEA during a 100% joint examination of the cargoes with men of the Nigerian Customs and other port stakeholders on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd October 2024.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos on Thursday 3rd October intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 50kg. The consignment was packed in 20 parcels each in five jumbo bags concealed in a container with four units of imported vehicles that came from Canada.

Though the container had earlier been cleared out of the ESS Libra Bonded Terminal in Ikorodu but based on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives were able to trace it to a warehouse in Ikorodu where the illicit consignments were discovered in one of the imported vehicles, a Toyota Sienna bus. A suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim has already been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.

In Taraba, NDLEA officers on Thursday 3rd October intercepted a commercial bus marked JAL 198 YQ coming from Onitsha, Anambra state to Jalingo. Large quantities of opioids: tramadol, rohypnol and codeine-based syrup concealed in body compartments of the vehicle were recovered when it was searched, while two suspects: Pako Thomas and Emmanuel Anyigor were arrested.

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Another suspect, Chibuzor Okafor was arrested at Wukari on Wednesday 2nd October with 80 blocks of cannabis weighing 38kg hidden in bags of garri.

In Lagos, a suspect Bolanle Ajenifuja was on Friday 4th October arrested at Afo – Media area of Ojo where 700 litres of skuchies, a mixture of local chapman and cocktail of illicit drugs were recovered from her, while three suspects: Ezekiel Akpele; Elijah Michael; and Goddard John, were nabbed same day when NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms located at bridge camp, a boundary community between Edo and Ondo states.

Not less than 9,966.332kg of the substance was destroyed on over three hectares of farmland with 48kg of the already processed psychoactive substance recovered.
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 Government Science Secondary School, Musawa, Katsina; students and teachers of Akanu Ibiam Memorial Seminary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; students and staff of Community High School, Ile Ogbo, Osun, and students of Dominion Secondary School, Okon, Akwa Ibom state, among others.

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While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Tincan, PHPC, Lagos, Edo, and Taraba 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.

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Just in: Popular Nigerian billionaire, E-Money nabbed by EFCC

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Naijablitznews reports that popular billionaire Emeka Daniel Okonkwo otherwise known as E-Money has been nabbed in Lagos by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC over alleged Naira abuse.

E-Money, who is the CEO of Emmy Cargoes Nigeria Limited and Five Star Music, was arrested in Lagos State for alleged abuse of the naira.

He is being investigated for allegedly spraying both Naira and US dollars at a party in Lagos in violation of Nigeria’s currency laws.

As at the time of filing this report the anti-graft agency has yet to issue an official statement regarding his arrest.

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Bitcoin firms push toward global currency shift as govts signal support

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By Francesca Hangeior

Bitcoin-focused investment firms are stepping into the spotlight as key players in a growing global movement toward the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency as a reserve asset.

Industry leaders and market analysts suggest that this shift—commonly referred to as “hyperbitcoinization”—could eventually displace traditional fiat currencies and redefine global financial systems.

Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash, believes that firms holding Bitcoin in their treasuries are strategically positioning themselves ahead of this potential transformation. “

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Companies like Strategy are taking advantage of the gap between Bitcoin’s future potential and the current state of fiat money,” Back said.

He described the practice as a “logical and sustainable arbitrage” scalable enough to support large corporations transitioning their treasuries to Bitcoin.

One of the frontrunners in this strategy is Strategy, whose Bitcoin holdings have already generated over $5.1 billion in profit since the beginning of 2025, according to co-founder Michael Saylor.

The firm’s bullish stance on Bitcoin has been instrumental in legitimizing corporate treasury allocations into digital assets.

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Across the globe, Asia is also seeing a surge in institutional Bitcoin adoption. Metaplanet, often referred to as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” recently surpassed 5,000 BTC in holdings and aims to acquire 21,000 BTC by 2026.

These moves illustrate the expanding geographical spread of institutional confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term viability.

At the regulatory level, the climate in the United States is becoming more favorable. The Federal Reserve recently reversed its 2022 guidance that had discouraged banks from engaging with cryptocurrencies. Michael Saylor welcomed the development, stating that U.S. banks “can now begin openly supporting Bitcoin without regulatory concerns.”

In an even more significant move, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a national Bitcoin reserve using BTC seized in criminal investigations. The initiative marks a historic moment in the relationship between government and cryptocurrency, signaling a new era of state-backed digital asset reserves.

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Bitcoin’s price growth is also outpacing inflation rates, bolstering the argument for its superiority over fiat currencies.

“Bitcoin’s price has been growing faster than traditional fiat currencies over four-year periods,” Back noted, emphasizing Bitcoin’s fixed supply and inflation resistance as core attributes driving its adoption.

As investment firms, multinational corporations, and now governments increasingly turn to Bitcoin, momentum is building for a future where Bitcoin could serve as a dominant global reserve currency.

With market experts projecting Bitcoin’s market cap could one day exceed $200 trillion, the financial world may be on the cusp of a historic transformation.

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Human rights attacks accelerated by Trump second term, says Amnesty

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By Francesca Hangeior

The global system of law and human rights is under threat from a “multiplicity of assaults” which have accelerated since US President Donald Trump’s return to power, Amnesty International said Tuesday in its annual report.

“Unprecedented forces are hunting down the ideals of human rights for all, seeking to destroy an international system forged in the blood and grief of World War Two and its Holocaust,” said the rights group’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard.

The lives of millions of people had been “devastated” in 2024 as a result of conflicts and abuses committed in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine and Afghanistan where women’s freedoms continue to be curtailed.

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The report singled out some of the world’s biggest powers such as the US, Russia and China for “undermining” the achievements of international law, as well as the fight against poverty and discrimination.

While these “reckless and punishing offensives” had been underway for several years, according to Amnesty, Trump had served as a “super-accelerator” of those trends.

The new administration has frozen US international aid and reduced its funding to several UN organisations.

The start of Trump’s second term had been marked by a “multiplicity of assaults — against human rights accountability, against international law, and against the UN”, Callamard said, calling for “concerted resistance”.

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“While international justice mechanisms have taken important steps towards accountability in some cases, powerful governments have repeatedly blocked attempts to take meaningful action to end atrocities,” Amnesty said.

In particular, it took aim at countries that had challenged decisions by the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Israel, following a complaint of “genocide” against the Palestinians in Gaza filed by South Africa.

Others, like Hungary, were criticised for refusing to enforce arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against several Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The year would be remembered for how “Israel’s military occupation grew ever more brazen and deadly” and how “the USA, Germany and a handful of other European states supported Israel”, the report added.

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Amnesty accused Israel of committing a “live-streamed genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly displacing most of the population and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

It said Israel had acted with “specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, thus committing genocide”. Israel has repeatedly denied such charges.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023 with an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza resulting in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.

Hamas also kidnapped 251 people, 58 of whom remain in the hands of the Islamist group, although the Israeli military says 34 are dead.

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In response, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and is conducting a military offensive that has left more than 52,000 dead, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

In December, Amnesty condemned the ongoing “genocide” in Gaza, an accusation since echoed by other NGOs such as HRW and Doctors Without Borders, but strongly rejected by Israel.

Amnesty also highlighted the suffering in Sudan from famine and a conflict between the regular army and the RSF paramilitaries.

The conflict had led to the “largest forced displacement crisis in the world” today, uprooting some 12 million people but had been met with “near-complete global indifference”, Amnesty said.

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On another front, the rights body said violence and discrimination against women had “soared” in 2024, both in conflicts, such as in Sudan, and in Afghanistan.

Women in the south Asian country are subject to draconian legislation restricting their freedoms under the Taliban.

Finally, the report highlighted an “urgent need” for governments to do more to regulate AI technologies to safeguard human rights.

It warned also that a growing number of governments were abusing spyware and other surveillance tools against opponents.

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