NEWS
NDLEA Nabs Saudi-bound Widow With Cocaine In Footwears At Lagos Airport
Mrs. Ajisegiri Kehinde Sidika, a 56-year-old widow and mother of four, was apprehended by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 400 grams of cocaine hidden in her shoes to Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, November 13, the suspect was detained as she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight bound for Saudi Arabia via Doha. The suspect, who makes the claim to be a businesswoman trading in adult and children’s clothing on Lagos Island, was apprehended. Two parcels of cocaine totaling 400 grams were discovered after a close inspection of the sandals she was wearing.
Ayoade Kehinde Tayo, a vendor of tricycle parts, attempted to send 1 kg of Tramadol 225mg and Rohypnol to Istanbul, Turkey via Cairo on an Egypt Airline aircraft the same day, but his efforts were thwarted when NDLEA agents detained him. He was at the airport to give Idowu Ayoade, an intended passenger, the drugs that were concealed inside a bag of groceries, but he was detained before he could do so.
Agbamuche Bright Nkeonye, a man planning to travel to Oman on Asky Airlines, and Adeoye Oluwakemi Fatimo, a woman with him, were detained at the airport’s departure hall after they presented a bag containing a variety of foods and body lotion that were used to conceal 1.10kg of marijuana and some Rohypnol capsules.
Agbamuche Bright Nkeonye, an intended traveler to Oman on Asky Airlines, and a woman, Adeoye Oluwakemi Fatimo, who was with him, were detained on Thursday, November 18 at the Lagos airport’s departure hall.
On November 17, anti-drug officers stationed at the airport’s SAHCO export shed successfully thwarted attempts by traffickers to hide cannabis and ecstasy tablets in three tubers of yam headed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Inegbu Ugochi Akunna, the freight agent who had offered the yams for shipment, was soon detained, and the consignor Ahmodu Sulaimon was detained as well.
NDLEA agents, working in tandem with Customs, stopped cartons of dangerous drinks in a container with the marking APZU3671697 at the Brawal container shed at the Kirikiri lighter terminal in Lagos.
Despite the fact that the container’s bill of lading stated that it was from Cape Town, South Africa, a review of the shippers’ database revealed that it was actually loaded from Antwerp, Belgium.
On Thursday, November 18th, a thorough check of the container revealed the presence of three cartons of cannabis energy drink and five cartons of beverages branded as Euphoria cannabis beer. Among the other beverages in the container are 139 cartons of champagne fruit, 20 cartons of dead man’s finger, and 21 cartons of a beverage known as monkey shoulder.
In a related development, courier companies in Lagos seized at least 5.6 kilograms of methamphetamine, cocaine, and tramadol hidden inside items like play stations, bicycles, motor propellers, and local fabrics intended for export to Australia and Cyprus. In a follow-up operation connected to one of the seizures, two suspects, Gabriel Emeka and Vintura Grillo, were taken into custody.
While this was going on, NDLEA agents in Niger state detained two suspects, Ismail Musa and Jidda Abbas, with 10,780 bottles of Akuskura, a brand-new psychoactive narcotic, hidden inside two Toyota Camry saloon cars with the license plates AGL 861 GS Lagos and KMK 118 SC Bayelsa. The shipment was being distributed in Abuja when it was loaded in Ibadan, Oyo state.
While agents seized 25,000 Tramadol capsules in Plateau and detained the owner, Ifeanyi Nweanwe, a beer shop owner, in a follow-up operation in Bauchi, agents also seized pharmaceutical opioids valued more than N30 million on Thursday, November 18th, in a commercial bus in Asaba, Delta state.
In response to the recent arrests and seizures, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, praised the officers and personnel of the MMIA, Tincan, Delta, FCT, Niger, Ondo, and Plateau Commands, as well as those of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, DOGI, for their zeal, dedication, and outstanding efforts to achieve success in their respective fields of responsibility.
He enjoined them and their compatriots across the country to stay focused.
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from selling off properties confiscated from her.
Alison-Madueke, through her legal team led by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), also requested the court to compel the EFCC to recover any assets already auctioned.
She accused the anti-graft agency of violating her fundamental right to a fair hearing, arguing that the sales were conducted without due legal process.
READ ALSO: Court Backs Diezani&’s Request To Amend Lawsuit Over EFCC’s Asset Forfeiture
She claimed the EFCC relied on final forfeiture orders obtained from various courts but failed to serve her with any charges, proof of evidence, or court summons regarding the seized properties.
According to her, the forfeiture orders were secured through “misstatements, misrepresentations, non-disclosure, concealment, and suppression of material facts.”
“In many cases, the final forfeiture orders were made against properties which affected the Applicant’s interest, the courts were misled into making the final order of forfeiture against the Applicant, based on suppression or non-disclosure of material facts,” she stated.
The former minister further argued that the courts which issued the forfeiture orders lacked jurisdiction and failed to respect her constitutional right to a fair hearing.
She insisted that she was outside Nigeria for medical treatment since 2015 and had no access to Nigerian newspapers where the forfeiture notices were reportedly published.
Alison-Madueke also maintained that she had not been convicted of any crime, making the forfeiture and subsequent sale of her properties unjustifiable.
“Only a court of law can declare an act as constituting unlawful activities and there was no such order that had declared the alleged conduct of the Applicant to be unlawful,” she argued.
In a counter-affidavit, the EFCC insisted that the properties were lawfully forfeited following extensive investigations into Alison-Madueke’s tenure as a public official.
The agency cited two criminal cases against her, including suit FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 filed in November 2018 and HC/ADYL/56c/2017 filed in July 2017.
The EFCC stated that the asset sales were conducted based on final forfeiture orders issued by Justices C.A. Obiozor and I.N. Oweibo in 2019.
It maintained that all necessary legal procedures were followed, including public notices in newspapers inviting interested parties to contest the forfeitures.
“The final forfeiture orders pursuant to which the sale of the properties was conducted are still in force and have not been set aside. The forfeited properties were disposed of in accordance with the due process of law,” the agency stated.
During Monday’s proceedings, Alison-Madueke’s lawyer, Godwin Iyibor, requested additional time to respond to the EFCC’s counter-affidavit, which was served on March 14. EFCC’s counsel, Divine Okoro, acknowledged delays in filing but assured the court of the agency’s commitment to the case.
Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter to March 27 for a definite hearing, warning that no further delays would be entertained. “The case has been pending since 2023,” the judge noted.
Alison-Madueke’s legal battle with the EFCC also includes a separate ₦100 billion defamation lawsuit against the agency.
In that suit, she alleged that the EFCC had authored and sponsored publications portraying her as a treasury looter, which she claimed subjected her to “public ridicule, odium, contempt, derision, and obloquy.”
Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has issued a three-month ultimatum to individuals who purchased houses in Kwankwasiyya, Amana, and Bandirawo cities, warning that failure to either occupy or rent them out will lead to revocation and reallocation.
The directive was announced on Monday during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed Commissioner for Housing Development, Ibrahim Adamu, a former Managing Director of the Kano Urban Property Development Authority.
READ MORE: EFCC Re-Arrests Popular Kano TikToker For Naira Abuse
Governor Yusuf expressed concern over the large number of vacant houses in these estates, which were developed during the administration of former Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso and later sold to private buyers.
Many of the homes, however, remain unoccupied, raising fears of deterioration and potential security threats.
“We are giving all those who purchased houses in these cities, especially Kwankwasiyya and Amana, an ultimatum—either occupy them or rent them out. If not, the government will revoke the allocation and sell them to those willing to live in them,” the governor declared.
He emphasized that his administration would not allow these estates to become hideouts for criminals, stressing the need to maximize available housing to address the state’s accommodation challenges.
Governor Yusuf also tasked the new Commissioner for Housing Development with tackling Kano’s housing deficit, reaffirming that the ministry was created to address both urban and rural housing needs.
Additionally, he commended the Kano State House of Assembly for their support and cooperation in governance.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has shred Mal Nasir El-Rufai over his assertion that the party had deviated from its original goals, with many members now in pursuit of personal interests.
This was detailed in a statement on Monday, in Abuja under the signature of its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, Esq.
Morka maintained that El-Rufai’s “claim that he exited because the Party had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology is a smokescreen to weaponise personal grievance garbed as principled dissent. El-Rufai appears traumatised by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform he rode to political prominence.”
ALSO READ: Edo Considers Arresting Sponsors Of Armed PDP Thugs
Issued under the subject, ‘APC to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai: Quit Sulking, Get a Grip, Salvage Some Responsibility, the statement reads, “In his frenzied attempt to justify his rather implausible exit from the All Progressives Party (APC), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State, in an interview with BBC Hausa, opined that APC has deviated from the progressive ideals of its founders and turned into a party where “everyone is now pursuing personal interests.”
In a once viral video, El-Rufai did not hold back when he deprecated politicians, who he argued were consumed by the pursuit of self-interest. In his words, “We have politics of private interest. We have no politics of public interest. Politicians will proudly tell you that politics is about interest. They are ready to collapse the system if they don’t get what they want.”
Today, El-Rufai stands diminished as the epitome of a self-interested politician, blinded by ego, driven by untamed emotion, and brimming with a vengeful desire to “collapse the system.”
In his BBC interview under reference, El-Rufai supplied the real reason for his soreness, stating that he was disappointed by the way he was treated by President Bola Tinubu and his administration, in ostensible reference to his failed ministerial bid. His claim that he exited because the Party had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology is a smokescreen to weaponise personal grievance garbed as principled dissent. El-Rufai appears traumatised by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform he rode to political prominence.
APC’s commitment to its founding values and ideals remains as valid and progressive today as they were then. El-Rufai’s allegation of a drift from our Party’s founding values exists only in his foggy imagination. Assuming that matters of political conviction had anything to do with his exit, exactly how is the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai’s new political abode, an ideological safe haven?
El-Rufai’s call for opposition members to join him under SDP banner is nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness, and delusion of grandeur. Nigerians are far more savvy than El-Rufai thinks, and they know that he is driven by raw self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country.
Our great Party is unfazed by El-Rufai’s grudge-laden tirade. We continue to welcome millions of new members across the country, who are joining to identify with the Party’s lofty values and support President Tinubu’s bold and transformative policies now birthing sustainable growth and prosperity for our country.
El-Rufai’s claim that Tinubu has failed is as outrageous as it is bogus, and a gross distortion of the reality on the ground. Across all sectors, Nigerians are witnessing tangible progress in the delivery of the President’s campaign promises. Indisputably, Nigeria is better off today than when he took office.
President Tinubu has demonstrated an ironclad commitment to good governance and launched unprecedented policy reforms to address the country’s generational challenges. The removal of fuel subsidy now saves Nigeria an estimated ₦4 trillion annually. The unification of exchange rates has resulted in higher foreign exchange inflow, while the country’s foreign reserves have shown resilient growth despite global economic pressures. President Tinubu’s financial diplomacy has attracted significant foreign direct investment, and reforms in customs and taxation have led to a massive increase in non-oil revenues, while sustained reform in the oil and gas sector has led to a historic boost in the country’s oil export, now upwards of 1.8 million barrels per day.
The President’s strong political will to re-imagine and revitalize Nigeria’s economy is paying off with significant improvement in the country’s GDP growth rate now surging to 3.8% year-on-year in Q4 2024, up from 3.46% in the previous quarter, marking the highest growth rate posted since Q4 2021. This is a direct outcome of the administration’s prudent economic policies and providing a favorable business environment that is widely applauded by the international financial and investment community.
Further, Nigeria’s balance of payment has seen remarkable improvement, with a substantial trade surplus of $14.31 billion in 2024. This is a result of the administration’s vigorous promotion of non-oil exports, reduced reliance on imported goods, and diversification of the country’s economy.
This impressive performance precedes an impending data overhaul, which may reveal an economy that is larger than initially estimated. Prospects for further growth is assuredly bright, with real GDP projected to increase from 3.0% in 2024 to 3.6% in 2025, according to Afreximbank Trade Intelligence Solutions.
In addition, under President Tinubu’s steady leadership, state and local governments now receive vastly higher allocations from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), enabling them to extend development to their people. This increased funding has become a potential game-changer for grassroots development, making it possible to execute critical projects and provide essential services to all Nigerians.
Nigerians do not doubt President Tinubu’s uncompromising commitment to economic reform, good governance, and improving their welfare. Rather than engaging in scurrilous propaganda and deliberate misinformation, El-Rufai should offer constructive criticism or alternative policies as expected of serious-minded political opposition. His misleading rhetoric and personal attacks on the president are reprehensible and calculated to undermine the country’s progress.
El-Rufai is free to choose his political affiliation, as he has done. He should stop sulking, get a grip, and salvage some respectability.
BREAKING: NNPC Champions Effective Use Of Host Community Funds For Niger Delta’s Sustainable Development
Dangote Revives Olokola Free Trade Zone, Resumes $800m Cement Factory In Ogun
Stop EFCC From Selling My Assets – Diezani Tells Court
Kano Gov Threatens To Reclaim Vacant Homes In Kwankwasiyya, Others
BREAKING: APC Urges El-Rufai To Salvage Some Responsibility
