Metro

Edo: Vehicle With Occupants Plunges Into River After Multiple Hits

Published

2 years ago

July 3, 2023

A pick-up truck and its occupants on Monday reportedly plunged into Ovia River along the Benin-Ore highway in Edo State.

This as another truck was said to have hit several vehicles that slowed down to pass through the dilapidated bridge.

This is coming barely after 5 days eleven people lost their lives when their vehicle was rammed by a truck on the same bridge

However, there has been conflicting reports concerning the kind of vehicle that plunged into the river.

While an eye witness said it was a fully loaded Sienna bus, the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) said it was a Ford pick-up truck that plunged into the river.

The accident was said to have happened a few minutes before the Deputy Governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, arrived at the scene to the area as a result of last Thursday’s incident.

He was said to have mobilized funds for local divers to find survivors inside the river and a specialized vehicle that could pull out the plunged vehicle from the river.

When contacted, the Sector Commander of the FRSC, Paul Okpe said that rescue efforts were ongoing and being coordinated by his men as at the time of filing this report.

According to him, when the incident happened, his men were immediately deployed to the scene from the Commission’s office at the old Toll Gate, saying he was therefore waiting for their final report at the end of the day.

He said “Five vehicles were involved; the truck that hit them and four vehicles who had slowed down to pass the bridge. Three of them and the truck are except the one that plunged into the river.

“You know Ovia River is in a valley so vehicles especially trucks coming from both ends are always descending a slope and there are always small vehicles slowing down to access the bridge. I have been talking to the Federal Controller of Works and he has said they were going to fix it.

“So far, no life has been lost as the one person who was strapped in a Lexus Jeep when the truck ran into them has been rescued and he is in the hospital.”

“The deputy governor was there and facilitated the mobilization of divers and a towing vehicle to the area.

“As I speak my men are still there so we have to wait until they are through with their efforts and those of the divers but they said the vehicle that plunged into the river was like a ford truck so we will wait for them to get the whole details.”

Metro

PHOTOS: NDLEA Arrests Lagos Hotelier, Seizes 1.7 Tonnes Of Cannabis

Published

16 minutes ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted drug baron, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, known as Chisco Bee, following weeks of surveillance on his operations.

According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Ibemesi, 42, who runs Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig Ltd and Daisy Garden Hotel in Isolo, Lagos, was taken into custody in the early hours of Saturday, 15 November.

Operatives subsequently led him to a warehouse in the same area where 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilogrammes, were recovered. At the point of arrest, cash in foreign currencies was also seized, including $11,600, £2,000, €2,200 and 50 Canadian dollars.

Elsewhere, NDLEA officers disrupted an attempt by a syndicate to distribute processed skunk from Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve in the Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.

After days of surveillance, 11,135 kilograms of cannabis were intercepted on Tuesday, 11 November. Two trucks used for transportation were seized, and seven suspects were detained.

In Edo State, 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk were recovered in separate operations. These included 184.1 kilograms along Oza/Igbanke road, 672 kilograms from Utese forest, and further consignments from vehicles on the Benin-Akure road, where two suspects were arrested.

Additional arrests were made in Ogun State, where four men were found with 68 kilograms of skunk and 3.15 kilograms of methamphetamine along the Ijebu-Ode expressway. In Taraba, two suspects were detained with 172 kilograms and 84 kilograms of cannabis, respectively. In Adamawa, 396,000 capsules of tramadol were seized at Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, while 785 kilograms of skunk were evacuated from a warehouse in Nasarawa.

Operations in Lagos also yielded results. Two suspects were arrested in Surulere with 65.15 kilograms of Canadian Loud, while another was detained in Oyingbo with 141 kilograms of Ghana Loud. In Kwara, officers intercepted a truck on the Ilorin-Jebba expressway carrying 78.565 kilograms of skunk and cartons of rubber solutions. A separate bus was stopped in Ilorin with 20 blocks of cannabis concealed in a jerrycan.

Alongside enforcement, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres and workplaces across Zamfara, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Enugu, Lagos and Ogun.

Chairman of the Agency, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended the officers involved in the operations across Lagos, Osun, Edo, Ogun, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa and Kwara. He urged them to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with public education.

Metro

NAF Hits Bandit Logistics Hub, Neutralises Many In Zamfara

Published

28 minutes ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Component of the Joint Task Force of Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY) has carried out precision air interdiction missions on the Sauri bandit camp in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, destroying a major defensive position and a logistics hub used by the criminals.

The strikes, conducted on November 14, 2025, resulted in the neutralisation of several terrorists and the destruction of critical structures, significantly degrading the gang’s operational capacity in the area.

NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed the operation in a statement on Saturday.

According to him, the mission followed extensive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations that revealed heightened terrorist activity, including rustled livestock concealed at a high-ground hideout serving as both a defensive position and logistics hub.

“Acting on this intelligence, the Air Component executed multiple coordinated strike passes on the identified targets, achieving direct hits that dislodged surviving terrorists attempting to flee into surrounding vegetation, where they were subsequently tracked and effectively engaged,” he said.

Ejodame added that the mission demonstrates the commitment of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, who has consistently pledged that the NAF will “find them, hunt them down, and protect our people.”

He said the operation underscores the unwavering resolve of the Joint Task Force and the NAF under Operation Fansan Yamma to deny terrorists safe havens, strengthen security in Zamfara State, and support national efforts to restore peace and stability across the North West.

The latest strike came four days after NAF conducted coordinated air interdiction missions in Borno, Katsina, and Kwara states, targeting bandit and terrorist enclaves.

In Borno, heavy strikes hit ISWAP positions in the Northern Tumbuns—Lake Chad Islands—and Mallam Fatori, where terrorists were mobilising with motorcycles and boats.

In Kwara State, airstrikes on Garin Dandi and Chigogo inflicted heavy losses on criminal elements and created panic within their ranks.

Similarly, in Katsina State, bombardments destroyed key logistics hubs at Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area, neutralising several terrorists.

Ejodame noted that each mission reaffirms NAF’s commitment to deploying smarter, intelligence-driven airpower to deliver precise lethality against insurgents and criminals while safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians.

Metro

NDLEA Arrests Suspected Drug Baron, Seizes Over 14,000kg Skunk In Osun

Published

33 minutes ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a suspected drug baron, Frank Ibemesi, also known as Chisco Bee, following weeks of surveillance on his activities.

Ibemesi, 42, identified as the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig. Ltd., was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, November 15, 2025, at his Daisy Garden Hotel on Agbeke Street, Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Lagos.

A statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said he was later taken to a warehouse on Pius Ezeobi Street, also in Ago Palace Way, where officers recovered 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of “loud,” a strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilograms.

He said cash recovered from him at the point of arrest included $11,600, £2,000, €2,200, and 50 Canadian dollars.

“A wanted drug baron who operates under the cover of a businessman and hotelier, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, alias Chisco Bee, has been arrested by operatives of a Special Operations Unit of the NDLEA after weeks of intelligence and surveillance on his criminal activities.

“The 42-year-old Ibemesi, who is the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig. Ltd., was arrested at his Daisy Garden Hotel, 66–68 Agbeke Street, Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday, November 15, 2025, after which he was taken to his warehouse at 7 Pius Ezeobi Street, off Ago Palace Way, Isolo, where 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilograms, were recovered.

“Also seized from him at the point of arrest were $11,600; 2,000 British pounds; 2,200 euros; and 50 Canadian dollars, all in cash,” the statement partly read.

In a separate operation in Osun State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives disrupted a drug syndicate at Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo Forest Reserve in Ife South Local Government Area on Tuesday, November 11.

According to him, the operatives seized 11,135 kilograms of processed skunk and arrested seven suspects.

“Operatives, after days of surveillance in the forest, seized two trucks being used to transport the illicit consignments: a Volvo truck marked WWR 29 XA and a Mercedes truck with registration number AWK 713 YZ, and arrested seven suspects. Those in custody in connection with the seizure are Lucky Abiodun; Julius Amos; Victor Ngbikili; Sunday Oduegwu; Ibrahim Akanni; Eze Godstime; and Fred Ifeanyichukwu,” he said.

In Edo State, Babafemi said officers recovered a total of 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk in separate operations.

These, according to him, included 184.1kg on Oza–Igbanke Road on Thursday, November 13; 672kg from Utese Forest on Friday, November 14; and 494kg from a Mercedes-Benz (DE311BEN) on the Benin–Akure Road, where 45-year-old Felix Edah was arrested.

He added that another suspect, Lucky Abagha, 51, was arrested with 552kg of skunk in a Mercedes-Benz.

“While four suspects — Micheal Okoh, Offor Agada, Raphael Nkemjika and Nwabueze Franklin — were arrested with 68kg of skunk and 3.150kg of methamphetamine along the Ijebu-Ode Expressway in Ogun State, Danjuma Tukura, 50, was nabbed with 172kg of skunk at Sunkani, Ardo-Kola LGA, Taraba State, on Friday, November 14, and Wisdom Titus, 24, with 84kg of the same substance at Takum area of the state,” he added.

In Adamawa State, Babafemi said 396,000 capsules of tramadol were seized from 50-year-old Ahmed Isyaku Nda at the Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Friday, November 14.

“Another 785kg of skunk was recovered from a warehouse in Asob Maraba Karu, Nasarawa State. The owner of the warehouse is currently at large,” he added.

In Kwara State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck marked T-0262KT along the Ilorin–Jebba Expressway on Thursday, November 13.

The vehicle, according to him, was conveying 197 blocks of skunk weighing 78.565kg and 155 cartons of rubber solutions.

“The truck driver, Umar Yakubu, was taken into custody. In another operation, a commercial bus with registration number KJA-657CY was intercepted at Eiyenkorin, Ilorin, on Wednesday, November 12, with 20 blocks of skunk concealed in a 50-litre jerrycan, and the driver, Ibrahim Bello, was arrested,” Babafemi said.

The PUNCH reported that the agency on Tuesday intercepted a shipment of cocaine valued at over $235m (about N338bn) at the PTML Terminal of the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos.

The agency said it has launched a joint investigation with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency to identify those behind the importation of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine.

(PUNCH)