Crime
Brutality: Lagos Estate Petitions Marwa To Relocate NDLEA Office
There’s an ongoing imbroglio between residents of the Gbagada Phase 11 Resident’s Association and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over accusations of brutality and incessant harassment.
Consequently, the residents have petitioned the Chairman, NDLEA, Buba Marwa, alleging that officials of the agency were riding on the location of their office within the estate to indulge in unruly behavior and brutalise them.
President and Vice President of the Association, Manso Odusanya, and Adebiyi Mabadeje, in a petition to Marwa, dated May 6, 2024, alleged that the NDLEA officials had been in the habit of harassing young ladies and causing trouble at the estate’s gates.
In the petition, they chronicled their relationship with the NDLEA, including how they objected to the siting the Lagos State Command of the agency within the estate, and how it was resolved with assurances from the then Chairman that stay would be temporary and conduct professional.
The petition read in part, “About two years ago, we noticed some unusual movements and developments going on in a property within the estate. The developer was invited for discussion and we came to understand that the NDLEA is the project owner and they were moving their state command to the estate.
“The association protested immediately and wrote protest letters to the government agency in charge of physical planning, which came into the estate to stop the construction of the cell, this area being strictly residential.
“The press came into the estate to investigate this and their findings were publicised. This resulted in a series of meetings between the association and the officials of the agency, including a meeting with the agency’s chairman in their office within the estate.
“The chairman promised that our objection was noted and that their stay would be temporary while they would do all within themselves to ensure their staff and operatives respect the rules of the estate and avoid frictions that may cause embarrassment.”
They residents are now lamenting that in spite of the assurances, the estate had been distressed by security breaches with attendant bodily harm to members of the community and its security staff.
“The estate invested in its private security team that is responsible for maintaining security and order. On many occasions, the NDLEA operatives have brutalised our team members just because they insist they must stay within the rules.
“In one instance, one of our security operatives was brutalised and on another occasion, our security gate was broken by the NDLEA operatives just because they wanted to force themselves in at odd hours. It is significant to note that in all instances, the officers involved were drunk, therefore acting under the influence of alcohol.
“We received complaints from our members of instances where their staff or even members of their families were harassed or approached by the NDLEA officials while walking around the estate. Many of our streets now witness indiscriminate parking resulting from activities of the NDLEA officials and their visitors who troop into the estate, at times in search of their detained relatives.”
The association also complained about the NDLEA official’s attitude to waste management, and expressed worry that it might endanger the health of residents in the estate.
It decried the unprofessional conduct of officials of the agency, including drunkenness and flagrant abuse of laid down security procedures in the estate.
“The presence of the NDLEA in an estate like ours, which is supposed to be residential, has compromised the security of our estate in many ways and made it more challenging for us to screen visitors coming into our estate, particularly at odd hours.
“We have regularly received complaints from those residing around the NDLEA office about the traumatising effects of the sound emanating from the NDLEA office when they are carrying out their usual military exercise and at times guns were shot as part of the exercise.
“In view of the above-stated facts, we are using this medium to request that the NDLEA office be relocated out of our estate so that the peace normally associated with our estate can be restored,” it stated.
On his part, the NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, affirmed that the issues raised were being jointly looked into to address them.
He added, “Indeed, a meeting was held just earlier today between a delegation from the estate and our team, meaning we’re responsive. Our presence in the community has largely enhanced the security of the neighbourhood, as was obvious during instances when there had been attempts to breach the security of the estate, especially during the last general elections.
“So, if there are areas of concern, we’re working with those concerned to address them and I can assure them that concrete actions are being taken as already directed by the leadership of the agency from Abuja.”
Almost 40 suspected oil thieves have paid for their illegal acts with their lives at the Okari Jetty, Okirika Local Government Area, Rivers State.
It was gathered that they were choked to death in the early hours of Thursday, after inhaling substance from the stolen crude they were loading into their boats.
According to community sources, many other individuals involved in the illicit act were yet to be traced, even as the incident has left the entire local government area devastated.
The storyline has it that the incident occurred when a vessel anchored at a jetty along the riverside to load a petroleum product for export, and over 200 persons mostly youths from neighbouring communities stormed the jetty with locally made boats to illegally load from a tapped point.
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Reliable sources aver that while the loading was going on the pungent odour of the product saturated the air and choked the victims.
The source added that many of the criminals collapsed into the river and those who managed to escape the scene, left with serious respiratory challenges for which they are being treated at an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt.
Confirming the incident, Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said its network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders in the Okrika Local Government Area reported that no fewer than 37 had been confirmed dead after inhaling “Indorama fuel”.
Dr. Fyneface, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said the victims had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline that normally transported product from Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that usually came every two weeks to load for export.
He said: “According to the report, no fewer than 37 persons suspected to be oil thieves died after inhaling what is locally called ‘Indorama Fuel’. Many others are still missing. The incident occurred during the illegal loading of the product into a ship at a tapping point.
“The incident is said to have occurred at about 12:00am on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at the Okari Jetty, Okrika Mainland area.
“The report further stated that while a vessel was loading the product and the men were simultaneously loading into their waiting boats from the illegal tapping point, they inhaled the product being pumped at high pressure. This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered”.
He called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the site of this incident.
He requested the companies that owned the vandalised facilities to provide adequate security on their pipelines to prevent a recurrence of the ugly incident.
He said: “The Advocacy Centre condemns this act of sabotage by the youths and warns them to stay away from oil and gas infrastructure due to the high pressure and associated dangers.
“While calling for investigation into the incident, the Advocacy Centre also calls on the government to provide alternative livelihood opportunities, including the canvassed modular refineries and the legalization of artisanal refining.
“This can be achieved through the establishment of YEAC-Nigeria’s proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) as well as the proposed Niger Delta Industrial Park to provide alternative opportunities for displaced artisanal refiners in the Niger Delta.”
Though, locals in the Okari jetty told newsmen that the number of casualties in the incident could be over 43, but the confirmed number is 37 as at the time of filing the report.
Police spokesperson in Rivers State, ASP Agabe Blessing Karbalo, who confirmed the incident, said the victims were allegedly attempting to steal crude oil.
She said that while no official complaint has been lodged with the command, it has commenced an investigation.
She said, “The suspects reportedly died in the process of attempting to steal crude oil. However, no official complaint has been received in connection with the incident at this time.
“Investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and ascertain the facts.”
Professional efforts of the Nigerian Navy (NN) has led to discovery of crude oil theft and illegal refining activities in Rivers and Delta States.
It was gathered that operatives of the NN discovered three suspected illegal refining sites, six reservoirs and about 99,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in both states.
These unfolded during separate operations by NN Ship (NNS) SOROH and NNS DELTA on August 31, 2026, relying on credible intelligence on suspected illegal petroleum activities in the area.
According to a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, the operations also led to the discovery of illegal refining infrastructure, including a large refining oven, storage facilities and dugout reservoirs containing suspected stolen crude oil.
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He said the operations represented a significant disruption to the activities of oil thieves and illegal refiners, particularly by targeting the infrastructure used to store and process stolen petroleum products.
Folorunsho added that the identified sites, facilities and recovered products were handled in accordance with established procedures.
The latest operations, the Navy said, underscored its continued efforts to sustain pressure on criminal networks operating in the oil-producing region and deny them access to infrastructure required to carry out crude oil theft and illegal refining.
The Navy also reiterated its commitment to supporting efforts to protect Nigeria’s oil and gas resources and curb activities capable of undermining the country’s economy and environment.
Drama unfolded at the Upper Area Court 2 in Otukpo, Benue State, as a former councillor, Daniel Ujah, was remanded at the Otukpo Correctional Centre over alleged assault and attempted culpable homicide.
Ujah, 43, who represented Awume-Icho Ward in Ohimini Local Government Area, was arraigned by the Nigeria Police on charges including criminal trespass, intimidation, criminal force and assault, causing grievous hurt, and attempted culpable homicide.
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The charges followed a petition filed by Rebecca Adole at the Area Commander’s Office in Otukpo, according to the First Information Report marked CR33/2026.
The police alleged that on August 28, 2026, Ujah trespassed into the compound of Adole’s mother, Amina Iduh, at Akwutulo, Awume, where he allegedly assaulted her.
According to the FIR, Iduh had returned from the farm when she was allegedly attacked, beaten and pushed into a fire, leaving her with injuries to her buttocks. Her clothes were also reportedly burnt during the incident.
The police said the woman was subsequently taken to a hospital in Onyagede, Ohimini Local Government Area, where she is receiving treatment.
Ujah was also accused of threatening to kill the woman and allegedly claiming that nobody would be able to stop him.
When the case came up for mention on Wednesday, Ujah pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His counsel, Rev. O. Simon, who held brief for P.O. Ella, applied for bail, but the prosecuting counsel, Inspector Nancy Alechenu, opposed the application.
Presiding magistrate, Hasia Garuba, subsequently ordered that Ujah be remanded at the Otukpo Correctional Centre pending further proceedings.
The court adjourned the case until September 22, 2026, for further mention.
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