News
Couple Declared Wanted Over Cocaine Seizures
Published
1 year agoon
By
Editor
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA has arrested four members of a drug cartel who runs a cocaine cartel from India in Lagos with a Sports Utility vehicle and two houses belonging to the syndicate, already traced to them sealed for forfeiture to the Federal Government.
This is just as a couple, Kazeem Omogoriola Owoalade (alias Abdul Qassim Adisa Balogun) and Rashidat Ayinke Owoalade (alias Bolarinwa Rashidat Ayinke), also members of the cartel have been declared wanted by NDLEA in connection with cocaine trade.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi who made this known, said “Two other members of the syndicate, Imran Taofeek Olalekan and Ishola Isiaka Olalekan were arrested on April 3, 2024 following their bid to export 3.40kg cocaine on a Qatar Airlines flight going to Oman through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos.
“While Imran was the courier conveying the drug consignment to Oman, Ishola recruited him for the head of the cartel, which investigation has now revealed to be Alhaji Kazeem Omogoriola Owoalade whose Indian residence permit bears Abdul Qassim Adisa Balogun based in India.
“Efforts to dismantle his network in Nigeria paid off after five weeks of surveillance and follow up operations when another member of the syndicate, Hamed Abimbola Saheed who works directly with the baron was arrested on Tuesday 14th May at Abule Egba area of Lagos.
“It was indeed Saheed who lodged Imran in a hotel a day before his aborted trip to Oman and equally dropped him and Ishola at the Lagos airport the day they were arrested.
READ ALSO: Never Accept Luggage Without Knowing Its Content — NDLEA Warns Travellers
“During a search of Hamed house, NDLEA operatives recovered some phenacetine, a cutting agent for Cocaine, weighing 900 grams.
“He confessed that the recovered substance was what was left of the consignment Imran was taking to Oman the day he was arrested.
“His arrest led to a follow up operation at the home of the Owoalade couple at 20 Eyiaro street, Ogudu Orioke, Lagos where another suspect was arrested and a new model Toyota RAV4 SUV marked FKJ-773 JJ belonging to Rashidat and additional 400 grams of Cocaine recovered in addition to already prepared suitcases to be used for illicit drug concealment, digital weighing scales and other paraphernalia”.
In the same vein, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, DOGI, attached to a courier firm in Lagos on Wednesday 15th May intercepted two parcels, containing Cocaine and Amphetamine concealed in steel bolts and shea butter.
While the cocaine weighing 587 grams, was concealed in eight steel bolt screws going to China, the Amphetamine consignment packed in vape pens and hidden in shea butter was going to the United Kingdom.
Attempts by Emeka Nwadiaro (aka Mega) to export 3.6kg Loud, a strain of cannabis concealed in 36 water flasks to Dubai, UAE was also thwarted at a logistic company in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Thursday 16th May while a swift follow up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Emeka Nwadiaro in Onitsha, Anambra state same day.
READ ALSO: NDLEA Intercepts Qatar-bound Drugs, Officers Reject N5m Bribe
While NDLEA operatives in Lagos intercepted a mercedes benz bus loaded with 840kg cannabis and arrested the driver, Samuel Henry, at Olojo in Ojo LGA, Lagos, another suspect, Lawal Adam was nabbed along Otukpo road, Aliade, Benue state on Friday 17th May with 75,000 pills of opioids including tramadol and exol-5.
Two suspects: Olisa Etisi, 32, and Jonathan Umeh, 25, were arrested along Owerri – Onitsha road, Imo state following the discovery by NDLEA operatives of a big gas cyclinder used to conceal six blocks of Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 3.85kg.
In Borno state, 70-year-old Adamu Mohammed was arrested at Mbulamel, Biu LGA on Thursday 16th May with 2kg cannabis and 33.55grams of diazepam, while Gaddafi Sani, 27, was arrested with 30 kilograms of cannabis along Abuja-Kaduna road, Kaduna.
In Yobe state, a consignment of 91.1kg opioids and 13kg cannabis going to Maiduguri, Borno state, was recovered from hidden compartments of a petrol tanker along Potiskum-Damaturu road by NDLEA officers who arrested the driver, Ismaila Ali.
No less than four suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 2,025 pieces of improvised explosive devices (IED) materials intercepted in a Toyota hummer bus marked AGL 905 XX by NDLEA officers along Agaie – Lapai road, Niger state.
The duo of Abdulrauf Shitu Adeyemi, 46, and Asmiyu Rahim, 45, conyeying the IED materials were arrested on the spot. Follow up operations led to the arrest of Husaini Abdullahi, 25, at Sokoto main market, Sokoto and Nazifi Abdullahi, 37, at Naibawa Motor Park, Kano on Friday 17th May.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed that all four suspects and the explosive materials be transferred to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
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In another operation, Muhammad Lawal, 42, was nabbed at Central Market Motor Park, Katsina State with 1,000 Ampoules of Pentazocine injection.
Also, a total of 105kg cannabis was on Friday 17th May recovered from a house at Obola community, Owan West LGA, Edo state and a suspect, Gloria Oris arrested when NDLEA officers raided the area.
In Kwara state, two suspects: Abdulganiyu Karaman, 55, and Sunday Abel, 37, were on Saturday 18th May arrested with 83kg cannabis and tramadol at Boriya, Baruten LGA, and Offa respectively.
With the same vigour, the various commands of the Agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign in the past week.
Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture for students and teachers of Government Girls Science secondary school, Malumfashi and Government Girls Science Secondary School, Daudawa, Katsina; Government Girls Science College, Tunga Magajiya Rijau LGA, Niger state.
Others are students and teachers of St. Theresa’s College Oke-Ado, Ibadan, Oyo state; students of Government Girls Secondary School, Tudun Wada, Kano; students of Dein secondary school, Imobi secondary school and St. Columbas Grammar School, Agbor, Delta State.
While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Rivers, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Borno, Niger, Benue, Kwara, Imo, and Edo Commands of the Agency as well as those of DOGI for their outstanding feats in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) said the efforts have further affirmed the cardinal role of NDLEA in the security architecture of the country.
He equally applauded their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures to create a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.
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An Ogun State-based businessman, Ademola Alade, has been stabbed to death in the Magede, Ibafo area of the state by yet-to-be-identified assailants.
The PUNCH gathered on from a source privy to the incident, who pleaded anonymity due to the nature of the case, that Alade was killed by unknown men at the entrance of his house last Wednesday, but his corpse was discovered the following day.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, the source revealed that Alade was stabbed in his house when he returned from a family event around 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
He narrated that the unidentified assailants had laid siege to Alade in his house as he returned from the outing.
READ ALSO:Ogun Police Arrest Two Soldiers, Suspected Cultist, 19 Others During Midnight Raid
The source said, “He was killed on Wednesday, and I was called on Thursday. I learnt that as he came in, some people were already in his house. We don’t know if they were hired assassins.
“As he came in, they just descended on him and took him outside. They stabbed him in the neck with a very sharp object. It pierced through his vein, and the blood was all over the compound entrance.”
The source also explained that nobody was around at the time the incident occurred in the night, as the deceased was only discovered by neighbours on Thursday afternoon.
He added that Alade’s car, which was always parked in the compound, was missing—raising suspicions that the assailants may have either stolen the vehicle or used it as a means of escape.
READ ALSO:Court Sentences Two To Death For Ritual Killing In Ogun
“In the morning, nobody heard from him. In the afternoon, the people around went to his house and found that the whole gate and door were left open. They came in and saw his lifeless body in a pool of his blood.
“Strangely, they took his car. Because he always parked his car inside, maybe they used it to escape, or they stole it —nobody knows.
“At the same time, they took all his phones and some other things,” the source said.
He also noted that the incident was reported to the police division in the area, adding that the deceased’s corpse was taken to a morgue before his family came to retrieve it for burial in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
READ ALSO:Police Arrest Suspected Stolen Goods Dealer In Akwa Ibom, Recover Items
However, when contacted, the Ibafo Divisional Police Officer, Atteh Samuel, said he could not give details of the incident as he was not authorised to speak to the press.
When contacted on Tuesday, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, said she had yet to be briefed on the matter.
“I am sorry, I don’t have any brief on that yet,” she said.
News
Ezekwesili Slams N’Assembly’s Constitutional Amendment As Charade
Published
3 hours agoon
July 31, 2025By
Editor
A former Minister of Education and Chief Executive Officer of Human Capital Africa, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, on Thursday, knocked the National Assembly over its efforts on the ongoing constitutional amendment, describing it as a charade and a conduit pipe to waste public funds.
Ezekwesili equally lamented that hijack of the nation’s political space and, by extension, that of the continent by a set of criminal enterprise gangs who now sit at the table and slice governance in the direction that best suits them while the larger interest of the people suffers.
The former minister stated this on Wednesday while delivering her keynote address on “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism: Perspectives on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism” at the 7th Penpushing anniversary and annual lecture.
Ezekwesili said that rather than acceding to the people’s demand for a fresh constitution that will help address all the imbalances and the inequalities that defined the current constitution, the National Assembly decided to embark on a venture that will do little or nothing to help address the need to restructure the country along the practice of true federalism.
She explained that the agitation for secession by some part of the country, the problem of insecurity, the challenge of unemployment and poverty, and maladministration as a whole will only be resolved with a new constitution that prioritises devolution of powers, justice, equity, and fairness to all irrespective of tribes and ethnicity.
READ ALSO:‘Too Extravagant,’ US Embassy Knocks Nigerian Govs For Lavish Spending
The former minister has equally called on the media to be at the vanguard of demanding a new constitution that is powered by the people and will ultimately serve the progress and development of the country.
Ezekwesili said, “The ongoing constitutional amendment cannot work, it cannot address our problem, it is a charade and sheer waste of resources. The demand for a new constitution is a matter of life and death
“For instance, when the engineer tells us that the foundation of a building is structurally defective, is it not to take the whole building down because it will continue to constitute an endangerment to the people.
“You won’t say, Oga, can we just do some little adjustment to the building, no, it won’t work, and this is same with nation building. So this expensive charade that the National Assembly is embarking on and spending money on won’t take us anywhere.
“The media should take the front seat and be at the vanguard of a demand for new constitution. We must have a constitutional conference that enables the people of this country to have honest conversation around things that will make us make progress and make Nigeria work for all of us.
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“If there is anything that will come out of this annual lecture it must be that the media should be at the vanguard of a push for a constitutional conference, one that will enable the constituent part of this country, a constituent assembly elected by the people, they go, they sit, they have the discussion on the basis of the issues that makes fiscal federal system of government to work and come out with issues that are eligible for constitution which is put before the people to vote in form of referendum.
“This is what Kenya did after almost collapsing, and since then, you never hear them talking about break-up, they will talk about the need for good leaders”
Ezekwesili added that there is nothing mysterious about good governance, as it has been done in other parts of the world and could be replicated here too in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
She disclosed, “There is nothing that is mysterious about good governance, this thing has been done elsewhere and could be replicated here in the country.
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“Unfortunately, today’s politics has been hijacked, what we now have is a criminal enterprise gang and this is not only in Nigeria but across the continent. A criminal enterprise gang has taken hold of politics and excluded the society and these people just sit at the table and just slice governance in the direction that suits them but that must not be made to continue.”
Ezekwesili explained that there is a strong connection between the quality of African politics and its economic performance and prosperity, adding that this sad reality may, however, not change for a long time to come if nothing is done to improve the quality of its politics and the political leaders.
The activist said that the true practice of fiscal federalism will foster greater regional autonomy and collaboration, satisfy the demand for self-determination without breaking up the country, boost productivity and accountability, and improve leadership capabilities, among other things.
Also speaking at the annual lecture, the immediate past Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sarafadeen Ishola, said that the country’s current federalism is adopted in principle but suffers in practice and neither delivers the autonomy expected by the federating units nor promotes the developmental competition required for national growth.
Ishola, who chaired the occasion, said that true federalism is not only about devolution of power but about responsible governance, institutional clarity, fiscal equity, and citizen-driven accountability.
He added that Nigerians must therefore not behold restructuring as a sectional agenda but must embrace it as a national rebirth strategy to address some of the challenges hindering effective management of the country.
Speaking at the event, the founder of Penpushing Media, an online platform, Mr Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, said that the essence of the annual lecture is aimed at elevating conversation around issues that could further enhance the greatness of the country.
Kayode-Adedeji said the online news medium has continued to grow in leaps and bound, contributing significantly to changing the narrative of the country through qualitative reportage and dose of philanthropic gestures that are deliberately designed to uplift humanity.
He explained that as part of the focus of the online news medium to contribute to the growth of mass communication undergraduates, the news platform has helped to train over 80 students from various institutions, while it has also instituted an annual award honour for the best graduating mass communication students in the higher institutions.
There were also goodwill messages from former Presidential Spokesman to the Late Mohammadu Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina, the Chairman of Editorial Board of Penpushing Media and former Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Lagos State Council, Deaconess Funke Fadugba; and the Chairman, Planning Committee, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, among others.
(PUNCH)
News
JUST IN: Dino Melaye Resigns From PDP, Cites Party’s ‘Lack Of Potency’
Published
9 hours agoon
July 31, 2025By
Editor
Former Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party, citing the party’s inability to provide credible leadership and deliver good governance to Nigerians.
In a resignation letter shared on his official X account on Thursday, dated July 4, 2025, and addressed to the chairman of the PDP in Ward 1, Aiyetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Melaye announced his immediate withdrawal from all party activities.
“I hereby tender my resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party at all levels of involvement.
READ ALSO:Nigerian Faces Life Sentence For Murdering Homeless Person In Canada
“This decision has become imperative due to the lack of potency and capacity by the party to deliver the Nigerian people from the prevailing political cankerworms that have eaten deeply into the fabric of our dear nation”, the letter partly read.
Melaye, who once served as the PDP’s candidate in the 2023 Kogi State governorship election, said his decision followed deep reflection on the party’s current state and trajectory.
“Having carefully reflected on the state of the party, I can no longer in good conscience participate in the activities of the parties or lend my support to her agenda”, the letter continued.
READ ALSO: Dino Visits Atta Igala, Vows To Govern Kogi With Fear Of God
He further requested that his resignation be treated as a formal and total withdrawal from all party levels and structures.
“In view of the above, please consider this as my formal withdrawal from the party and all its activities at all levels with immediate effect”, the letter added.
In his closing remarks, Melaye expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve under the party’s platform during his time as a member.
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve under the platform during my period of membership,” the letter concluded.
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