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Guber Poll: Save Abia From Bloodbath NBA Tells INEC

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Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to quickly declare the results of Abia State governorship election held on Saturday to avoid bloodbath in the state.

Similarly, Abia State human rights and pro- democracy groups have called on the INEC to save the state from avoidable crisis by resolving the logjam over the March 18 governorship election.

NBA Chairman, Umuahia branch, Jasper Ejimofor who made the call during a press conference in Umuahia, said that available evidence from INEC indicated that the Labour Party candidate, Dr Alex Otti, won the election, hence, he urged the electoral commission to declare him winner without further delays.

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Ejimofor who read from a prepared text said:”We have noted with sadness, the controversy surrounding the 18th March 2023 Abia Governorship election and wish to state as follows.

READ ALSO: Why We Suspended Collation Of Guber Results In Abia – INEC

”As a professional body desirous of ensuring justice, unity, peace and stability of the State, we cannot stand aloof at this point in time, especially when it is obvious that there are moves to trample on the democratic rights of Abians and prevent them from having the person they have unanimously voted for as their go up.

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“The overwhelming evidence emanating from INEC indicates that the Labour Party Governorship candidate, Dr. Alex Otti has won the governorship election with a very wider margin.

” Since INEC has already declared 16 LGAs and The LP candidate is leading with over 90,000 votes, and the remaining LGA of Obingwa has less than 27,000 accredited voters as captured in INEC’S data, there are no justifiable reasons why INEC should continue to delay the declaration of Otti as the winner of the election.

“That the delay in declaring the true winner of the election is causing unnecessary tension in the stat, and this tension could snowball into serious crisis and breakdown of law and order.

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“We therefore enjoin INEC to declare Alex Otti of Labour Party as the winner of the Governorship election to save the state the avoidable disaster that is looming.

READ ALSO: INEC Suspends Collation Of Guber Election Results In Abia, Enugu

“We also call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the INEC National Chairman, the National Body of NBA, NUJ, Civil Society groups, Heads of Security Agencies and other respected citizens and institutions to entertain and prevent the bloodbath this could lead to.”

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Similarly, the Rights groups in a press statement, noted with dismay that INEC State Returning Officer, Resident Electoral Commissioner and other actors in the commission “are being pressured to admit the bloated results from Obingwa LGA of Abia state”.

The statement was jointly signed by the State Coordinator Congress of Civil Society Groups Abia Chapter, Comrade Damian Ogudike; President, Abia Stakeholders Forum (ASF),
Comrade Nwogu Chukwudi; and the Convener, Abia civil society network on Equity & Justice(ACSNEJ), Comrade Nanna Nwafor.

According to the Rights Groups “incontrovertible evidence from the outcome of the polls has shown that the majority of the people of Abia State spoke in loud voices with their votes on whom they want to represent them in government starting from the Presidential/ National Assembly polls till last Saturday when they re-echoed their stance once more by ensuring they vote credible persons in House of Assembly and in various local government results for the governorship elections.”

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READ ALSO: Abia Guber Poll: Otti Wins In 10 LGAs, PDP 5

They called on INEC “to resist any form of pressure or inducement in accepting the evidently flawed results procured from a particular Local Government Area”.

” INEC should save the commission and its agents from public odium and disgrace with its attendant consequences which may literally set Abia State on fire”, the statement said.

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Continuing it said: “Tension is building up already across different parts of the state by the restive youths who are not taking chances these days in allowing their mandate to be stolen by any political actor or parties.

“The desperation to take power by hook or crook being exhibited by some forces leaves much to be desired while those who read the signs of the present times don’t need any prophet or seer to tell them that things have changed.

“It is our unshaken position that input legitimacy should not be toyed with at any time in the democratic process as the process through which a public official emerges into public office is very much vital as to also what the public person does in office after getting power.

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READ ALSO: Abia: Otti, Ahaiwe’s Agents, Supporters Sleep In INEC HQs

“Subverting the peoples’ will in a brazen manner and resort to the provocative slogan “If not satisfied, go to court” will not be accepted anymore in Abia State.

” The people deserve the kind of a leader they gave their consent to, through the democratic process of voting and no more shall they be deprived of this their guaranteed democratic rights.

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“To do the contrary poses serious danger to the society and we implore INEC and other desperate politicians to avoid setting Abia state on fire by their actions or inactions. Let the outcome of the final result be a reflection of the wish of the electorates who braved all odds to come out and exercise their franchise” the right group stated.”

 

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NDLEA Arrests Two Drug Kingpins, Seizes Cocaine, Heroin, Meth In Lagos

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Operatives of a Special Operations Unit (SOU) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two drug kingpins, Victor Nwosa and Felix Chika Obiegbu, after consignments of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine being prepared for export to Europe and beyond were recovered from their Lagos homes following weeks of intelligence and surveillance on their criminal networks.

While 64-year-old Nwosa paraded himself as a successful textile merchant, 49-year-old Obiegbu was known to many as a businessman in wine distribution, but beneath their outward appearance lay their hidden illicit drug business, unearthed by NDLEA operatives after months of intelligence gathering on the syndicates led by them.

According to a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, at the time they were preparing their consignments for export, NDLEA-SOU operatives, who had kept them under surveillance for months, swooped on them in different parts of Lagos.

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Nwosa was arrested on 17 September 2025 at his home at 16, Femi Kila Street, Okota, where 4.33 kilogrammes of heroin and 448 grammes of cocaine were recovered during a search of the house.

In Obiegbu’s case, he was arrested on 11 September at his home at 5 Shada Shonefun Street, Aguda, Surulere, where, in the course of a search, 2.902 kilogrammes of methamphetamine were uncovered and seized.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Widow Using Fake Pregnancy To Traffic Cocaine

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Attempts by suspected suppliers of illicit drugs to terrorists and bandits in Borno and Yobe to move narcotics concealed in the engine compartment of a Mercedes-Benz jeep and in a woman’s travelling bag were also thwarted by NDLEA operatives during stop-and-search operations in the two states.

In Borno State, following weeks of intelligence, NDLEA officers on Saturday arrested Baba Kaka Ibrahim at Njimtilo village while driving a Mercedes-Benz GLK marked JRE 987 AE along Damaturu Road. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 39,380 pills of tramadol 225mg and Exol-5 stuffed in the engine compartment of the jeep.

That same day in Yobe State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a woman, Halima Adamu, along the Damaturu-Maiduguri Road, where 39 parcels of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 1.4 kilogrammes, were found concealed inside the casing of her travelling bag. A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of another woman linked to the consignment, Habiba Muhammad, at her Baga Road, Maiduguri home.

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Two suspects, Aliyu Sani and Yahaya Tata, were arrested on Saturday by NDLEA operatives along the Zaria-Kano Road, Gadar Tamburawa, Kano State, with 30,030 pills of tramadol seized from them, while three suspects – Friday Elebechi, Tobin Godgift and Aya Clement – were arrested by NDLEA operatives at Swali Jetty, Yenagoa, Bayelsa, on 22 September after 12 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and 50 Diana AAA cartridges were recovered from them.

A 45-year-old ex-convict, Femi Owoeye (aka Do Good), was arrested on 25 September by NDLEA officers at his home at 24 Oke-Igele Street, Ikere Ekiti. He was found in possession of 32 kilogrammes of skunk and 10.5 grammes of tramadol. He had previously been convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for a similar drug trafficking offence in 2016.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests 65 Suspects In Abia, 7 Prosecuted, Convicted

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In Kaduna, a suspect, Adedamola Olayeni, was arrested on 22 September with 404 blocks of skunk weighing 262.6 kilogrammes at the Abuja-Kaduna tollgate. The consignment was found in his Honda Pilot jeep marked MKA 499 TT, coming from Osogbo, Osun State, and heading to Katsina State.

Another suspect, Zubairu Haruna, was found on 24 September with 506 grammes of methamphetamine at the Gwantu-Fadan Karshi checkpoint, Kaduna, while a follow-up operation in Gombe State led to the arrest of the intended receiver of the consignment, Babangida Mohammed.

No fewer than 85,100 pills of tramadol and other opioids were seized from the trio of Dauda Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar and Ismaila Muhammed in the Apapa area of Lagos on 22 September, while NDLEA operatives in Abuja, the following day, 23 September, arrested Opeyemi Ogundipe with 2.1 kilogrammes of Colorado along the Abaji-Gwagwalada Expressway.

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In Edo State, NDLEA officers on 23 September destroyed a total of 12,115.6 kilogrammes of skunk on 4.846244 hectares of cannabis plantation at Uromi Forest in Esan West LGA, where two suspects, Ernest Uche and Felix Mugorga, were arrested and 345.5 kilogrammes of processed substance evacuated.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Detains Couple, 2 Daughters For Alleged Drug Running

At Ogu Forest, Igueben LGA, no less than 12,031.245 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance were destroyed on 4.438442 hectares of cannabis farm on 24 September, with 106.1 kilogrammes of processed consignment evacuated. A truck conveying 82 bags of skunk concealed in bags of charcoal, with a total weight of 1,025 kilogrammes, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives along Wareke-Auchi Road, Etsako West LGA, on Friday, while two suspects, Kabiru Abdulahi and Anas Safiyanu, were apprehended in connection with the seizure.

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While commending the officers and men of the SOU, as well as those of the Borno, Yobe, Edo, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, FCT, Ekiti and Bayelsa Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the Agency’s drug control efforts.

He noted that “the success of the various operations across the country underscores our commitment to safeguarding Nigeria from illicit substances that threaten public health and national security. Every gramme of these dangerous drugs we seize and remove from our streets and communities reinforces our determination to protect our youths, disrupt criminal networks, and strengthen national security.”

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Insecurity: Army HQ Directs GOC Ibadan To Relocate To Kwara

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The Army Headquarters has directed the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division of the Nigerian Army in Ibadan, to immediately relocate to Kwara State to further coordinate and boost military response to the insecurity in parts of the state.

This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Kwara State Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, on Sunday.

It was gathered that the directive of the Army Headquarters followed the killing of no fewer than five forest guards and local hunters by suspected bandits early Sunday morning in Oke, Ifelodun Local Government Area.

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It was also learnt that members of the local vigilance team neutralised an unspecified number of the bandits in the early morning attack.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Bandits Abduct Kwara APC Chairman’s Wife, Daughter

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, who mourned the deaths of the hunters, “urged our brave residents to remain calm and avoid the temptation to turn on ourselves,” saying, “We will forever be grateful to all of them as our heroes.”

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The Governor also called for increased security deployments to the state to rout the criminals involved in attacks in parts of the state.

In a statement following the attack on the positions of the forest guards and the surrounding areas of Oke Ode, the Governor said the state requires more military deployments to roll back the activities of criminals in parts of the Kwara South and Kwara North senatorial districts.

He regretted the loss of innocent civilians and the forest guards who, he said, mounted a spirited resistance to the assailants in the early morning incident out of patriotism and love for their communities.

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READ ALSO:Three Killed As Suspected Bandits Ambush Motorists In Kwara

My heartfelt condolences go to the families. No word can adequately capture the depth of my sadness and nothing can compensate the bereaved families for these incidents, in spite of our efforts and the investments in enlisting and training the forest guards to bolster the conventional forces.

“Our people are understandably concerned about the situation, and I wholeheartedly share in this grief,” the Governor said in the statement on Sunday.

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“While we appreciate the efforts and unquantifiable sacrifices of the security forces as well as the successes so far, we definitely need to do a lot more until we are completely out of the woods.”

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Retired DIG Parry Osayande is dead

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Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Parry Osayande is dead!

Osayende died on Sunday in Benin City, a day to his 89th birth anniversary.

His death was confirmed in a condolence statement released by the president of the Immaculate Conception College Old Boys’ Association (ICCOBA), Engr. Ighodalo Edetanlen.

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The announcement, made on behalf of the association’s National Executive Committee, described Osayande as an “exemplary old boy” of the college, located in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

READ ALSO:Soldier Sentenced To Death For Murder, Armed Robbery In Akwa Ibom

The statement, titled ‘CONDOLENCE: DIG. PARRY OSAYANDE (Rtd),’ reads: “The President, ICCOBA Worldwide, Engr. Ighodalo Edetanlen, on behalf of the National Executive Committee and the entire Old Boys of Immaculate Conception College, Benin City announce, with total submission to the will of God, the peaceful repose of an exemplary old boy, DIG Parry Benjamin Osemwegie Osayande (Rtd) earlier today at the age of 88 years.”

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Born on September 29, 1936, Osayande would have turned 89 on Monday.

His decades-long service to the Nigeria Police Force included high-level postings as Commissioner of Police in Benue and Cross River States. He also served as Chairman of the Police Service Commission, playing a vital role in the country’s law enforcement and administrative reform.

READ ALSO:Four Miners Feared Dead, Others Trapped As Illegal Mining Site Collapses In Plateau

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The association expressed deep sorrow over his passing and called for prayers for the bereaved family.

“While we mourn, let us also uphold the family he left behind in prayers in this moment of grief,” the statement added.

“Details regarding funeral arrangements are expected to be announced in due course.

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“May God grant him and all the faithful departed eternal rest in Jesus Name, Amen,” the statement concluded,

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