NDLEA smashes cross-border drug syndicates, arrests 6 Kingpins, recovers cocaine, opioids
NDLEA smashes cross-border drug syndicates, arrests 6 Kingpins, recovers cocaine, opioids
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has smashed two major cross-border drug trafficking syndicates with cocaine and opioids worth billions of naira recovered from them.
A statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja stated that six leaders of the cartels were arrested in different parts of the country.
Babafemi said that the arrest came after months of intelligence gathering and painstaking surveillance by the operatives of the NDLEA.
He said that the syndicates comprise of Nigerians based in Mubi, Adamawa state; Onitsha, Anambra state, and Lagos state as well as Cameroonians.
He also said that they all came under NDLEA radar after they were suspected of being major suppliers of drugs to terror groups operating in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Babafemi named the leaders of the syndicates so far arrested as Ibrahim Bawuro, Najib Ibrahim, Ibrahim Umar, Nelson Udechukwu, Ezeh Amaechi, and Adejumo Ishola.
According to him, intelligence gathered revealed that some psychoactive substances including tramadol were often sourced by Ibrahim Bawuro and Ibrahim Najib from a notorious drug dealer in Onitsha, Nelson Udechukwu.
“They would thereafter be packed and concealed in vehicles in the premises of Ezeh Amaechi, an associate of Udechukwu.
“The duo of Ibrahim Bawuro and Ibrahim Najib will thereafter transport the drugs from Onitsha to Yola and subsequently to other parts of the North and Cameroon in specially constructed false compartments of vehicles, which travel from the East to the North at night.
“On Oct. 7, Bawuro and Najib were trailed from Onitsha where they had gone to buy another consignment and eventually arrested in Taraba the following day, Oct. 8.
“A total of 276,500 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Toyota Avensis saloon car marked DKA 57 TT, which they abandoned on the Jalingo-Yola expressway when they noticed NDLEA operatives were on their trail.
“Follow up operations were subsequently carried out in Delta and Anambra states where Ezeh Amaechi and Nelson Udechukwu were arrested by operatives of the NDLEA Directorate of Intelligence.
“The operatives coordinated the whole effort with their counterparts in Taraba, Adamawa, Delta and Anambra respectively,” Babafemi said.
According to him, another leader of a different syndicate, Ishola Adejumo, 37, was arrested by operatives of a special operation unit of the agency on Tuesday Nov. 5 at Seme border in Lagos.
Babafemi said the suspect was arrested on his way from Ghana with 3.3 kilograms of cocaine and 600 grams of synthetic cannabis after months of intelligence and surveillance on his cross-border criminal activities.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA commands nationwide have continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation lectures and advocacy visits to worship centres, schools, workplaces, palaces of traditional rulers and communities.
The NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa has applauded the personnel and their compatriots in all the commands across the country for intensifying the WADA sensitisation lectures and advocacy messages to every part of their areas of responsibility. (NAN)
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JUST IN; Oyo Governor, Makinde names Olubadan as Chairman Oyo Council of Obas
JUST IN; Oyo Governor, Makinde names Olubadan as Chairman Oyo Council of Obas
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has inaugurated the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, declaring that the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, will be heading the council for a period of 2 years.
The declaration follows the passing of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs (Further Amendments) Bill, 2025, by the state House of Assembly, and the signing of the same into law by the governor.
Recall that the lawmakers had amended Clause 5 of Section 28 of the Chieftaincy Law to make the Council chairmanship rotational among the Alaafin of Oyo, the Soun of Ogbomoso, and the Olubadan of Ibadanland.
While inaugurating the Council, Governor Makinde said he had consulted with the trio of the Alaafin, the Olubadan and the Soun, with the three of them reaching a consensus that the chairmanship should start with the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty Oba Rashidi Ladoja.
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NPF committed to community policing, says IGP Egbetokun
NPF committed to community policing, says IGP Egbetokun
The Inspector General of Police (I-GP), Dr Kayode Egbetokun, has assured that the police remained committed to community policing to ensure that criminals were drastically reduced in the country.
The I-GP, who was represented by the Assistant Inspector of Police ( AIG) Zone 17, Dr Ajani Musibau, stated this at the Police Community Relations Committee ( PCRC) National Leadership Training and Conference on Thursday in Akure.
The theme of the conference is: “Inclusivity and Diversity: the New Leadership Paradigm.”
He said that security could not be achieved by only the police, but with the support from the community.
The I-GP stated that security was a joint work and responsibility of all, commending the current leadership of the Nigeria Police for a paradigm shift towards modern policing.
Also, the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, Mr Adebowale Lawal, said that bandits could not infiltrate the state due to community policing strategy embraced by the command.
He explained that bandits would have infiltrated the state through Kogi and Edo, but intelligence reports from members of PCRC had been a great help to the police command.
According to him, the support and logistics received from the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun and Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa had also motivated police personnel to work earnestly.
He said that effective community policing was a sure way to curb activities of criminals, and implored members of the public not to relent in their efforts to provide police and other security agencies with useful information.
Lawal also commended other conventional security agencies, forest guards and vigilantes for their support to the police in fighting bandits
In his remarks, the National Chairman of PCRC, Alhaji Ibrahim Mogaji said that the conference was to strengthen leaders of PCRC in the South-West zone and encourage them to redouble their efforts and support in fighting crimes.
According to Mogaji, the occasion also enabled the association to appreciate Gov. Aiyedatiwa, I-GP, the AIG Zone 17 and the state Commissioner of Police.
He advised the participants to moblise other members of PCRC and orientate them on their roles to continue to fight crime in the country.
The PCRC national chairman asked Nigerians to respect the dignity of police and to be civil when interacting with them.
Mogaji said that the leadership training would be replicated in other geo-political zones of the country.
Also, Aiyedatiwa, represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Security, Mr Gbenga Atiba, commended the PCRC , AIG Zone 17, and the Commissioner of Police for their unrelenting efforts to guarantee peace across the state.
Aiyedatiwa promised that the state government would give PCRC attention and continue to support police and other security agencies with appropriate logistics that would make policing more effective.
A guest lecturer, Comrade Yinka Folarin asked members of the public to give respect and dignity to members of the police, saying that they also had rights that must be respected.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PCRC honoured Gov. Aiyedatiwa, AIG Zone 17 and the Commissioner of Police with awards. (NAN)
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Increase salary, welfare packages for Police other security personnel – FG told
Increase salary, welfare packages for Police other security personnel – FG told
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for improved welfare packages for armed forces personnel and all members of the security and intelligence community to aid their effectiveness and efficiency.
National Chairman of PDP, Tanimu Turaki, made the call in a statement in Abuja on Thursday to mark the 2026 Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day.
Turaki also urged the Federal Government to adequately fund security agencies to effectively neutralise those he described as agents of insecurity, and restore peace to the country.
He expressed PDP’s condolences to the families of members of the armed forces who died in active service while executing their mandate of protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“On a day like this, we acknowledge that they paid the supreme price for the continuous existence of our country.
“We advise all actors, whether state or non-state, not to engage in actions capable of destabilising the country.
“In honour of those who have died to keep our country safe, we pray that their deaths may not be in vain and their labours not forgotten,” Turaki said.(NAN)
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