March 1, 2026

Year: 2025

NDLEA arrests India-bound nursing student in an attempt to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine………… . Intercepts illicit consignments heading to Borno, Kano, Abuja; nabs 33 suspects in Lagos, FCT, Kano, Kwara, Kogi, Taraba raids Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA have arrested one Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, a 200-level student of nursing at the Noida International University, Uttar Pradesh, India, for allegedly attempting to swallow 76 wraps of cocaine hours before her return flight to the South Asian country through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, Kano, 26-year old Uzodinma was scheduled to return to Delhi, India from MAKIA Kano on Qatar Airways on Friday 17th January 2025 but was arrested in her room at 11:30pm on Thursday 16th January at Royal Park Hotel Sabon Garin Kano, while awaiting the cocaine consignment she was supposed to ingest before her flight the following morning. Her move was blown open when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi state on Thursday 16th January intercepted 31-year-old Cosmas Okorie in a commuter bus coming from Lagos enroute Kano. Inside his black polythene bag was an audio speaker, which was used to conceal 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.340 kilograms, which he was going to deliver to Uzodinma in Kano, and this followed the arrest of Esther Uzodinma Esther Uzodinma in her statement claimed the drug cartel she was working for recruited her in India and paid for her trip to Nigeria to enjoy her Christmas and New Year holidays, adding that she did not allow her parents to know she was in Nigeria, as she did not travel to her home state, Imo but was lodged for two weeks in a hotel in Enugu, from where she was flown to Abuja and then Kano where she was lodged at Royal Park Hotel waiting to swallow the 76 pellets of cocaine. She disclosed that she was promised over $5,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit consignment in India. The NDLEA operatives in other operations along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja highway, arrested four suspects: Abdullahi Umar; Tijjani Samaila; Lucky Obotte and Abubakar Haruna, who were heading to Maiduguri, Borno state, Kano, and Abuja in commuter vehicles with over 38,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, 250mg and 100mg concealed in audio speakers and cloths. In Lagos. Also in lagos area NDLEA operatives of a special operations unit of the Agency on Tuesday 14th January raided the hideout of a 59-year-old Nwokedi Emeka Jonas in Ojodu-Berger area of the state where they recovered 10 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 4.9kg as well as different paper bags he uses in dispensing the psychoactive substance in retail quantities. Printed on them include street names and codes such as ‘Dead man’; ‘Gelato top shelf smoke’; ‘Topshelf’; and ‘Gelato cake’ In other operations in Lagos, operatives of the state Command of the Agency on Wednesday 15th January raided a house in Igando New Town area of Alimosho where they arrested three suspects: Isaac Vincent, 32; Ebube Ikechi, 25; and Christopher Usifoh, 43, from whom 1,610kg skunk, a strain of cannabis and 6kg pills of tramadol were recovered. Also recovered from the house were a delivery van and three other vehicles used for distributing the illicit drugs. Two suspects: Olashile Okoya and Mohammed Ibrahim were arrested on Saturday 18th January when NDLEA officers raided their home at 5A Addison Palmer, Cadogan Estate, Castle Rock Avenue, Osapa, Lekki Lagos, where 28 kilograms of Cannadian Loud were recovered following credible intelligence. Not less than 67kg skunk was seized from Saheed Sulaiman on Thursday 16th January when NDLEA operatives raided his Edumare street, Lagos Island hideout, while various quantities of assorted illicit substances were recovered from Adamu Abdullahi on Tuesday 14th January when Jerry Irabi Estate, Lekki hideout was raided by NDLEA officers. They include 3.7 litres of codeine syrup; 10,000 pills of tramadol; 1,670 tablets of rohypnol; 6.5kg cannabis; 3,100 tablets of diazepam; 10,090 tablets of Molly; 5,500 tabs of Exol-5; 1.2kg crisps of wrapped methamphetamine and a monetary exhibit of ₦623,650.00. In Kano, two suspects: Usama Adamu, 25, and Isah Ibrahim, 29, were on Friday 17th January arrested at Dawanau, Dawakin Tofa LGA where a total of 7.6kg skunk, 78 tubes of rubber solution and 356 bottles of ‘suck and die’, a new psychoactive substance were recovered from them. In another raid in Kano, Usman Isa, 29, was nabbed along Zaria road with 114 blocks of skunk weighing 49.8kg. Three suspects: Lawali Isiaka, Umoru Isiaka and Mohammed Kabiru were on Wednesday 15th January arrested by NDLEA operatives with 390 tablets of Molly and 65.5kg of cannabis at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, while Samuel Ogbu, 24, was nabbed with 25,000 pills of tramadol by operatives along Wukari- Zaki Ibiam road, Wukari LGA, Taraba state. In series of raids in Abuja, a suspect, Rufa’i Hashimu, 27, was arrested at Gwarimpa village area of the FCT with 118 bottles of codeine-based syrup, while 13 others were nabbed in other locations such as: Area1 IDP camp, Gishiri, Zuba, Dei -Dei, AYA, Lagos Street Garki, Karu, and Lugbe. Recovered from them include different quantities of tramadol, diazepam, and methamphetamine. Operatives of the NDLEA in Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued to intensify 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 sensitisation lecture to students and staff of NUD Basic Primary School, Orile-Igbon, Oyo state; Corpus Christi College, Ilawe Ekiti; Holy Family International Schools, Calabar; Kudam Islamic School, Osogbo; Business Apprenticeship Training Centre, Kankia, Katsina, while Abia state command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Alex Otti, among others. While commending the officers and men of Lagos, Kogi, SOPU, Kano, Kwara, FCT, and Taraba Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures. Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) urged them and their compatriots across the country not to rest on their oars as they intensify their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

Henrietta Oke January 19, 2025 0
Intercepts illicit consignments and nabs suspects in some states.. Operatives of the National Drug...
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We will recover N227 billion Arik Air, says AMCON The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says it is determined to recover the over 227 billion naira owed it by Arik Air, regardless of any opposition , blackmail resistance. Head of Corporate Communications AMCON, Jude Nwauzor who made this known at a media briefing on Friday in lagos, disclosed that Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide owner of Arik Air and promoter of two Companies: Rockson Engineering Nigeria Limited, Ojemai farms Limited, and Ojemai Investment Limited already in the kitty of AMCON, owes the corporation over 455 billion naira as at December 31st 2024 Nwauzor while giving a breakdown noted that “These companies’ debt were transferred by various banks to AMCON due to their non performance status with a total indebtedness of N455, 171, 764, 772.80 billion as at December 31 2024. Arik Air which is in receivership owes AMCON N227, 637, 469, 394.34 billion, Rockson Engineering, N163.502, 837,397.75 billion and Ojemai farm N14, 031,457, 980, 71 billion. He alleged that despite this huge debt Johnson Arumemi Ikhide is still spreading falsehood about his indebtedness to AMCON, claiming that Arik Air never defaulted on its payment obligations to Union Bank insisting that he is not owing AMCON “The matter is that no matter the smear campaigning, he is sponsoring against AMCON, these debts must be recovered one way or the other. The leadership of AMCON knows there is no nice way of recovering debt for the obligor go to any length to assassinate the character of both AMCON staff and management, they malign and harass our personal with everything arsenal at their disposal ” “The task of debt recovery has been arduous and challenging, while several thousands of Nigerians and Nigerian Companies have honoured their obligations, AMCON continues to face resistance from a number of debtors who are unwilling to pay without a fight. One of these debtors is Arik Air (in Receivership) an airline owned by Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, who is also the promoter of Rockson Nigeria Limited, Ojemai Farms and Ojemai investment Limited. These companies debts were transferred by various banks to AMCON due to their performance with a total indebtedness of N455, 171, 764, 772.80 billion as at December 31st 2024 He says part of the reasons for AMCON’s intervention in Arik air was to save the company from eminent liquidation saying that “it was the banks that handed over the bad loan called Arik to AMCON as they were not performing adding that AMCON guided by the Act establishing it also empowers them to purchase manage and dispose EBA–Eligible Bank Assests which includes Arik Air. ” He disclosed that some of the consultants that guided Central Bank, Arik and AMCON at that time, actually suggested that they should sell everything about Arik because of the huge debt which is irredeemable. Nwauzor revealed that” The option of liquidating Arik Air is still on the table, very much on the table, but we are guided by the Federal government and AMCON act”

Henrietta Oke January 18, 2025 0
    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says it is determined to...
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