By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Owners of trucks and drivers conveying goods from the North to the South East have protested against incessant killing of their members by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

They staged the protest on Sunday in Jos, Plateau State capital, decrying that many of their members had been killed and their vehicles burnt in the attacks.

The drivers, under the umbrella of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (heavy trucks), marched with placards with different inscriptions such as ‘Stop killing northern drivers’, ‘Tinubu should protect our members’, and ‘Enough of burning and destruction of our trucks in the South East.’

They listed the most dangerous routes as including Enugu-Lopanta-Lopanta-Okigwue and Okigwue to Umuahia in Abia State.

Addressing journalists, Mahmud Jafar, who led the protest, said unprovoked attacks, intimidation and harassment against truck drivers from the North had become the order of the day in recent years.

He said they would boycott the transportation of goods to the South East for their safety and security if the situation persists.

“It is with a heavy heart that we address you today on the continued killing of our members, destruction and burning of our trucks by gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOP) in the South East of Nigeria

“For the past eight years, truck drivers from northern Nigeria have been consistently targeted, killed, and had their trucks destroyed or burnt while transporting goods to the south east. We are still trying to understand what offence we have committed to deserve this kind of barbaric killing.

“The frequency and severity of these attacks have reached alarming levels, with over 50 drivers lost, many still missing, and hundreds of trucks either burned, damaged, or forcefully taken away from drivers.

“Goods, including cattle, perishable items, and grains, are deliberately burned, destroyed, and stolen by the perpetrators on daily basis,” Jafar said.

Narrating some of the incidents that claimed the lives of truck drivers, he said between January and December 2024, more than 20 drivers were brutally killed and their trucks burnt or damaged in the communities of Ehobey, Okigwe, Isoche, and Ehobey local government areas of Imo State.

Jafar said some corpses were recovered while others remained missing.

He said on January 28, 2025, four truck drivers–Haruna Jibril, Bala Muhammad, Dalladi Jafaru, and Auwal Muhammad- carrying tomatoes to Port Harcourt were killed and their goods unloaded between Lobanta community in Imo State and Umahia in Abia State.

He said the perpetrators filmed the empty trucks and sent the videos to the vehicle owners to confirm that they had killed the victims and when the owners called the perpetrators to demand the release of the victims’ bodies, they were told to forget about them.

He said the incident was reported on January 28 to the Police Area Command in Okigwe, the DSS office in Okigwe, the army military camp in Okigwe and the Police Headquarters in Imo, “but were are yet know the whereabouts of the corpses or the trucks.

“Just yesterday, suspected IPOB members in the Four Corner community of Nkanu West LGA of Enugu State opened fire on a truck carrying perishable items heading to Port Harcourt. Luckily, the driver and his assistants survived the attack. These sad incidents continue unabated without any serious move to stop them,” Jafar added.

NURTW, truck owners seek probe, FG’s intervention

Hassan Shitu, NURTW chairman, Laranto Branch, said drivers and truck owners had been pushed to the wall, hence the need to call the attention of the government to arrest the situation.

He appealed to the government for intervention.

“Our challenge is that we live in the northern part of the country, but we find it difficult to operate in the eastern part. They beat our drivers, damage our vehicles without any provocation. Just recently, they seized our truck, and the drivers are nowhere to be found.

“We are pleading with the government to look into what is happening to us in the East. Our lives are always in danger. This has been happening for a long time. We have reported various incidents, but up till now, we are yet to see any action,” he said.

Attacks threat to national security – Truck owners

Truck owners, who spoke during the protest, described the killing of their drivers and the destruction of vehicles in the South East as a threat to national security.

They demanded that the federal government conduct a thorough investigation to identify the attackers and prosecute them.

Pankes Moses, a truck owner, said: “We are transporters and transport goods from the north to the east but, we are facing many challenges. “We don’t know if the state governments are aware of what is happening. We pay all the revenue, but yet we’re not safe.

“They create illegal checkpoints where drivers would be forced to pay huge amounts for nothing. Youths would usually block roads and tax our drivers apart from the government-approved checkpoints.”

Lawan Shuaibu, another transporter, stated: “The intimidation is too much. It is as if we were not Nigerians. Just last week Monday, on a broad daylight, one of my drivers traveling to Port Harcourt, was attacked around Four Conner area in Enugu State.

The gunmen opened fire on the truck and injured the driver. They damage the truck.

“The always attack our drivers. The situation is deteriorating. We call on federal government to protect our lives as citizens of the country.”

‘My slain brother left behind 12 children’

Yusuf Adamu, a brother to one of the drivers killed in Imo State on January 28, 2025, said the deceased left behind a wife and 12 children.

“We have tried everything we could to retrieve his corpse, but we couldn’t. We reported the incident to almost all the security agencies in Imo State, but there hasn’t been any trace of him or his colleague.

“The number of people who have lost their lives on that road is countless. We call on the federal government to take necessary action. People from the East have property in the North, and likewise, people from the North have property in the East. If this situation continues, what will be the benefit?

“Why northerners are specifically targeted? Regardless of their tribe, anyone from the North is a target. We are begging the government to do something. We still believe in one Nigeria.”

Police mum

The spokesman of the Imo State Police Command, Henry Okoye, whose area of jurisdiction witnessed attacks on drivers and transporters, when contacted, promised to call back, but he did not.

He also did not reply to a WhatsApp message sent to him.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

… Says his arrest after 17 years in hiding, Interpol red notice on him, an affirmation Nigeria won’t be a safe haven for drug cartels

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

After 17 years of hiding in the dark to ship illicit drugs worth billions of naira across the world, the reign of a wanted 59-year-old drug baron Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff has been brought to a halt following his arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA at his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) who disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday 3rd March 2025 detailed how operatives of its Special Operations Unit had been on the trail of Ogbonnaya following an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

According to Marwa: “The major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord who’s wanted across the world as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation. I am therefore pleased to announce this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country. As we have said four years ago when we began the reform of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organise drug trafficking rings.

“On Wednesday, 12th February 2025, we achieved that objective in the successful arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, a 59-year-old drug baron. The suspect was arrested at his hideout at No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos. He has been under NDLEA investigation before his arrest. As a result, we have comprehensive intelligence on his activities, and incontrovertible facts that he is a notorious drug lord who recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
“Our records reveal that many Nigerians apprehended outside the country for drug-related offences were linked to him. Furthermore, we have established that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods. Following his arrest, a search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports belonging to different individuals, many of which contained Korean visas. Additionally, we recovered some illicit substances in a storehouse at the back of his house.”

While unmasking the suspect’s leadership role in the drug underworld, the NDLEA boss said “Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad. His dossier indicates that he served a one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008. Despite this, he continued his illicit trade, remaining actively involved in drug trafficking operations to the Far East.

“Presently, he is wanted in the Republic of Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences in collaboration with his accomplices. An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition to the country for offences committed between 2023 and 2024. From a series of interdictions, it has been established that Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is the ringleader of a drug trafficking organisation responsible for smuggling narcotics into the People’s Republic of Korea. He has been orchestrating operations remotely by giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries.”

He further gave insights into what investigations had unearthed about Ogbonnaya’s illicit trade activities. “On 5th October 2023, at a location in Burkina Faso, the suspect dispatched 6,051.06 grams of skunk, concealed in dried chillies and jujube, to a Korean, Kim Dong Wook at a designated address in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. The package arrived at Incheon Airport on 19th October 2023 at 07:20 am via Air France.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has issued an ultimatum to the governments of Bauchi, Katsina, Kano, and Kebbi states, demanding the reversal of their directives mandating a five-week closure of schools for the Ramadan fast.

CAN described the move as discriminatory and a violation of the rights of non-Muslim students, warning that it would pursue legal action if the orders were not rescinded.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, CAN President, Daniel Okoh, criticized the policy, highlighting its potential to worsen the educational crisis in the affected states, which already account for 44% of Nigeria’s out-of-school children.

“Education is a fundamental right and the bedrock of progress,” Okoh stated.

“The closure of schools across these states, ranging from nursery to tertiary levels, for an extended period disrupts academic schedules and threatens the educational advancement of millions of students.”

He added that the decision lacked transparency and failed to involve broad consultations with stakeholders, including Christian leaders, educators, and parents.

“Policies impacting diverse populations—Muslims, Christians, and others—demand transparent, inclusive dialogue with parents, educators, religious leaders, and school proprietors.

“The absence of such engagement erodes trust and unity in our pluralistic society,” Okoh remarked.

Citing examples from predominantly Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the CAN President argued that Nigeria should adopt pragmatic measures that balance religious observance with education.

“Globally, nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—where Islam is central and Ramadan deeply revered—do not shut down schools for the entire fasting period.

“Instead, they adapt schedules, shortening hours or offering flexibility, to balance education with religious practice. A month-long closure, or five weeks in Bauchi’s case, is excessive and departs from sensible precedent,” Okoh said.

CAN emphasised that it remains committed to interfaith harmony but would not tolerate policies that undermine constitutional rights.

The association called on Governors Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dikko Umar Radda (Katsina), Abba Kabir Yusuf (Kano), and Nasir Idris (Kebbi) to engage stakeholders in constructive dialogue to resolve the issue.

“Transparency is essential, and we expect these governments to act in good faith by promptly engaging all parties.

“The education of our children and the unity of our states are at stake. Should these rights face further jeopardy or dialogue fail to deliver justice, CAN is prepared to seek legal recourse,” Okoh warned.

CAN concluded with an appeal for calm among residents of the affected states, urging unity and cooperation to ensure no child’s education is compromised.

“Let us unite as Nigerians to forge a society where faith and progress harmonize, where no child’s education is compromised, and where every community is valued,” the statement read.