News

Abba Kyari: Why We Opted For Behind Closed-door Trial – NDLEA

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2023

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Tuesday, gave reasons it resorted to the trial of the suspended DCP Abba Kyari and his co-defendants behind closed doors.

Counsel for the NDLEA, Mr Sunday Joseph, told newsmen who were barred from covering the sitting shortly after the case was adjourned by Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court, Abuja.

Joseph, who said there was security concern about the trial, said the class of witnesses brought to court were undercover witnesses who needed to be protected.

“You see, some of these trials where there are security concerns and then we agreed among the lawyers; both myself and the defendants.

“These are class of witnesses that needed to be protected; they are undercover witnesses,” he said.

When asked whether such an act would not prevent the public from knowing what transpired in court, he said: “That is why, you know I don’t grant press interviews.

“That is why I made an exception to tell you,” he said.

On what happened in the courtroom, Joseph, a director of the Legal and Prosecution Department of the NDLEA, said the testimony of an additional witness was taken.

The lawyer said bank documents he sought to be tendered as exhibits were opposed to by the defendants and he responded.

“So ruling of the court is reserved on the admissibility of the evidence we sought to tender to 9 June,” he said.

Mr Michael Mbanefo, the lawyer to the 3rd defendant (ASP Bawa James), also told newsmen that evidence of one of the witnesses was taken “but it was scuttled by the documents they wanted to tender which we opposed vehemently. So the case adjourned for a ruling.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had earlier reported that journalists were restrained from covering the trial of Kyari and his co-defendants, following the NDLEA’s application to the effect.

Besides, other lawyers, whose matters were listed on the cause list, were also directed to leave the courtroom for Kyari’s case.

Shortly after the NDLEA’s lawyer made the application, Justice Nwite stood down the hearing to allow lawyers, litigants, visitors, and journalists to move out of the courtroom.

The registrar then announced to lawyers, who had no business in Kyari’s case to step forward and take another date for their cases.

The development generated provocation from lawyers who waited until the judge reconvened.

When Justice Nwite sat to commence proceedings, one of the lawyers, Emmanuel Oluwabiyi, whose case was on number 11 on the cause list, told Nwite that he was in the court for his matter.

Oluwabiyi said he observed that before the judge rose, counsel for the NDLEA made an application.

“I understand that it was directed that everybody in the courtroom should step out because of the instant matter. The bar is also meant to be vacated.

“The feedback I am getting is that when this matter is going to be made, no lawyer should be in
“I am embarrassed by the application my lord,” he said.

Another lawyer, Mr Ramiah Imhanaede, also aligned with Oluwabiyi’s submission.

Justice Nwite then pleaded with lawyers who were not in Kyari’s matter to bear with the court in the interim.
He said their matters too would be heard as soon as the hearing was over.

NAN reports that Kyari and other police officers, who are on suspension, are being charged by the anti-narcotic agency on allegations bordering on tampering and dealing with part of the 21.8 kilogrammes of cocaine recovered from two convicts.

The four accused police officers include ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirigba and Inspector John Nuhu are listed as 2nd to 5th defendants respectively.

The NDLEA accused the police officers, who had been on suspension pending the hearing and determination of the matter, of alleged compromise.

They were arraigned alongside Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who conspired with some other persons (now at large), to traffic the hard drugs into the country.

Umeibe and Ezenwanne were said to have been arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu by the Inspector General of Police (IGP)’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) led by Kyari based on their suspicious trafficking in hard drugs.

The suspects were subsequently brought to Abuja and handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation.

Although the two suspects pleaded guilty to the counts preferred against them bordering on the importation of 21.35kg of cocaine into the country, the police officers on trial pleaded not guilty to all the counts against them.

The court, on June 14, 2022, convicted and sentenced Umeibe and Ezenwanne to two years imprisonment.

News

Film Premiere: Edo In Talks With Embassies To Promote Safe Migration —Agazuma

Published

4 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The Edo State Government has opened talks with various embassies to establish modalities and strategies aimed at reducing or completely eliminating irregular migration, while promoting safe migration practices.

The Director General (DG) of the Edo State Migration Agency, Lucky Agazuma, disclosed this during the premiere of the film “Cold Dishes” held in Benin City.

He emphasized the need for stakeholders to work together to end the scourge of irregular migration in Nigeria.

Agazuma, who was part of the audience that watched the movie, said the Edo State Government has made remarkable progress in tackling irregular migration.

He noted that the Monday Okpebholo-led administration has continued to deliver good governance to the people of the state.

According to him, the government is creating jobs, regularising teachers’ appointments, improving the educational system, and intensifying public enlightenment campaigns to educate citizens on the dangers of embarking on irregular migration.

He expressed appreciation to the governor for prioritising the issue of irregular migration and for working tirelessly to curb it in the state.

Agazuma described irregular migration as “dangerous and deadly,” and assured that the agency would continue to assist intending travelers on safe and legal travel options.

“We are discussing with embassies in Nigeria to help promote safe migration and ensure Nigeria is a VISA free nation as it will help reduce the process of embarking on illegal migration.

“For the film that has been premiered today, it talks about migration and irregular migration and the dangers surrounding it.
As an agency we are working to check traffickers in the State and we have a government that is accountable to it’s citizens, working to improve their lives”

“The last administration relegated Edo people bringing in consultants to do the job here but the Governor Monday Okpebholo led administration has changed the narrative creating the atmosphere for Edo people to fix Edo themselves,” he said.

Agazuma further revealed that the agency has continued to rescue Edo indigenes from the hands of traffickers, including those who have been held in captivity for years in their search for greener pastures.

He called on citizens to shun irregular migration and ensure that they only travel through legal means to avoid falling prey to traffickers.

“Our work and focus as an agency is bringing the world to Edo. The administration of Monday Okpebholo is bringing good governance to Edo and in the long run eliminating irregular migration.”

A lead actor in the premiered film “Cold Dishes” and an Edo indigene, Osas Ighodalo, also expressed appreciation to Okpebholo for creating an enabling environment for the entertainment industry to thrive.

“Edo State is taking the lead in the fight against irregular migration and the government has continued to support all efforts to eliminate the scourge. I thank the Edo State government and the migration agency for standing with our returnees and rehabilitating them. The film is a call on all Stakeholders to do more,” she said.

News

Forceful Entering Into State-owned Property In Edo Risks Jail

Published

4 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has signed law prescribing 10 years Imprisonment for anyone who violently or forcefully enters into state-owned property.

The governor also assented to, law prescribing five years imprisonment for anyone who is involved in an unauthorized sale or transfer of government property without the governor’s consent.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, and made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Benin.

Itua in the statement quoted the governor as emphasizing that the “new legal framework is a clear demonstration of his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption, impunity, and misuse of government property.”

The governor’s CPS said the law also prescribed stringent penalty for professionals who aid or abet illegal land transactions involving state property.

The statement partly reads: “The Edo State Public Property Protection Law, 2025, establishes the Edo State Public Property Protection Committee, a statutory body mandated to oversee, safeguard, and recover all public properties belonging to the State. The law empowers the committee to prevent unauthorized occupation, vandalism, encroachment, alienation, or destruction of public assets.

“Under the new law, the committee shall have the authority to identify, inspect, seal, and recover encroached public properties, investigate disputes, and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to ensure strict compliance. It also empowers the committee to initiate legal actions through the Ministry of Justice against any individual or entity found in contravention of the provisions of the law.

“Public assets belong to the people of Edo State, not individuals. This law ensures that no one, no matter how highly placed, can appropriate public property for private gain,” he said.

“The law prescribes stringent penalties for violations. Unauthorized sale or transfer of government property without the governor’s consent now attracts a five-year prison term, while violent or forceful entry into state-owned property could lead to up to ten years’ imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offence.

“Professionals who aid or abet illegal land transactions involving state property will also face sanctions, including prosecution and referral to their professional bodies for disciplinary action.

“Additionally, false petitions or fraudulent claims relating to government lands will attract severe penalties to deter abuse of process.”

News

Immigration Seizes Senator Natasha’s Passport At Airport

Published

5 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP/Kogi Central) has cried out that Nigerian immigration officers seized her passport at an airport, preventing her from travelling abroad.

Over the weekend, Akpoti-Uduaghan celebrated her second anniversary in the Senate by commissioning projects in Kogi Central.

The lawmaker went live on Instagram at the airport as she questioned immigration officials over the alleged confiscation of her passport.

In a video obtained on Tuesday, she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of giving the order for her passport to be seized.

She described the action as an unlawful restriction of her movement and a gross violation of her fundamental rights.

“Hello, fellow Nigerians. I’m Senator Natasha. Having completed my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. I’m at the airport here, and my passport has been withheld again,” she said in the video.

“This same thing happened before when I was stopped from travelling even though I had committed no offence, and there was no court order restricting me. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told me that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he claimed that each time I go abroad, I ‘spoil the image of the country’ by granting interviews to international media.”

According to the senator, it was only after the intervention of a certain influential person that her passport was released the last time such an incident occurred.

“Godswill Akpabio has instructed the Controller General of Customs to withhold my passport. This is wrong,” the lawmaker said.

She claimed that President Bola Tinubu had instructed the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, to withdraw all cases in the court filed by the Federal Government against her.

My invitation to Akpabio, other colleagues procedural, not personal, Natasha clarifies
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s passport was later released by the immigration officials.

The Kogi legislator was involved in a high-profile dispute with Akpabio in February over seat reallocation in the Senate, which escalated into her six-month suspension, effective March 6, 2025.

She, however, resumed her duties on September 24, 2025.