Crime
NDLEA Seizes 233,778kg Cannibis Worth N4.1b In Edo

Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Edo State have arrested seven men in a village in Ukpuje forest, Owan West Local Government Area of the state, discovering four cannibis warehouse with a total volume of two hundred and thirty three thousand, seven hundred and seventy-eight kilograms, ( 233,778kg) of the dried weeds with an estimated street value of over 1.4 billion naira.
The suspected drug barons include the chairman of vigilante in Ukpuje, Emmanuel Oki, 62 years, Chief Odi Sabato, 42 years and Bright Inemi Edegbe, 53 years.
Others are Gowon Ehimigbai, 53 years, Enodi Ode, 37 years, Ayo Oni, 30 years and Akhime Benjamin, 43 years.
READ ALSO: NDLEA Arrests 263 Suspects, Seizes 15,253.82kg Of Illicit Drugs In Edo
According to the State Commander, NDLA, Buba Wakama, the joint team of NDLEA and Army officers that carried out the raid had a strength of 80 personnel, while the operation that lasted from Thursday night through Friday night February 5, 2021 was jointly coordinated by the Officer in charge of Strike Force, James Olarewaju, the Principal Staff Officer Operations, Bisong Peter and Captain Abdullahi Abukori.
He gave the breakdown of the drugs as follows; 318 bags of 80kg each weighing 25,440kg, 15,853 bags of 13kg weighing 206,089kg.
While the total quantity seized is 2,249kg others weighing 231,529kg was destroyed at the farm.
According to him, this is the largest single concentration of cannabis discovered by the Command so far.
READ ALSO: World Drug Day: NDLEA Seizes 744kg Exhibits, Arrests 87 Suspects In Imo
Wakama ascribed the success of the operation to the enabling environment created by the new Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Brigadier General Buba Marwa.
“The community that is notorious for cannabis cultivation and trafficking as well as attacks on law enforcement officers, stood still as a combined team of NDLEA and combatant military personnel overran the drug trafficking syndicates due to our superior fire power.
“We took delivery of two new Hilux operational vehicles presented to the command last week. This is the first assignment of the vehicles and it turned out to be the best for the command. We are grateful to the chairman, and this is a clear warning that there is no room for drug barons in the State,” he stated.
He added that the seizures represent a large chunk of the previous cannabis planting season.
In his words, “They planted, watered, harvested and processed the drug only for us to dispossessed them of their labour because their action is criminal. The warehouses are located in the heart of the forest, yet we were able to uncover them based on intelligence gathering.”
READ ALSO: NDLEA Arrests 169 Suspects In Bayelsa
Wakawa thanked the Four Brigade Commander in Benin City, Brigadier General, M. A. Sadik for the logistics and personnel assistance that led to the successful clampdown on the cannabis syndicates in the area.
While describing the synergy between the Nigerian Army and NDLEA in the state as an unbeatable force against drugs and related crime in the society, the Commander said the suspects will be investigated and the case charged to court soon.
Crime
EFCC Arrests CEO Over ₦2bn Ponzi Scheme

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested the Chief Executive Officer of Gavice Logistics Limited, Ahamba Tochukwu, for allegedly defrauding several investors in his logistics investment schemes to the tune of ₦2 billion.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the EFCC said Tochukwu, through Gavice Logistics Limited, rolled out elaborate investment plans covering haulage, courier, and e-commerce services, while promising investors a 50 per cent return on investment.
The statement, signed by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, added that investigations revealed Tochukwu collected more than ₦2 billion from 400 investors, who have since been unable to recover their capital.
READ ALSO:EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show
It noted that the suspect went into hiding with the funds in November 2024 but has now been apprehended by the EFCC operatives and is currently being interrogated over the alleged Ponzi scheme.
The EFCC advised Nigerians to be wary of patronising unverified investment schemes.
“With his arrest, members of the public are advised to desist from patronising unverified pyramid schemes and fraudulent investment promoters in order to avoid being defrauded,” the EFCC warned.
READ ALSO:Things To Know About Procurement Fraud As A Nigerian – EFCC
The PUNCH reports the commission had, on May 12, warned Nigerians, particularly the youth, to steer clear of Ponzi schemes, which it described as destructive and a threat to national security and economic growth.
This was after it raised the alarm that 58 illegal Ponzi scheme operators defrauded Nigerians under the guise of investment opportunities.
Crime
Nigeria Police Go Tough On LGBT, Vow to Extradite Suspects From Abroad

By Udiele Mercy
Men of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested two men in a hotel in Benin City for alleged involvement in homosexual activities in contravention of the laws of the State.
The men whose identities were given as Dele Thompson and Steve Omobeke were reportedly nabbed during a routine raid on suspected black spots of gay activities in the state.
This particular arrest the police authorities say has got some international dimensions as investigations have revealed that the duo has links with some LGBT exponents in Canada and the United States of America.
Although the police gave no details beyond mentioning one Osamudiamen Monday Aimiuwuriamwen said to be mutual sex partner with Dele Thompson and a funding source for their nefarious activities in Nigeria, they however vowed to do everything humanly possible to arrest every member of the illicit sex gang from wherever they are presently.
READ ALSO: Police Declare Man Wanted Over Homos*xual Act
The police said they have material evidence in the form of pictures and videos obtained from the suspect’s phone, implicating enough for them to prosecute the suspects.
According to the police, “we have photographs and videos extracted from the suspect’s showing where the outlaws in very compromising positions indicative of their involvement.
“We are surprised that despite efforts by the force and other security agencies to stamp out LGBT practices in the state, many are still indulging in the unholy behavior.”
The command has communicated with the Force Headquarters to activate its extradition agreement with the Interpol to extradite members of the syndicate outside the shores of Nigeria,” said Chidi Nwabuzor, PPRO Edo State Police Command.
Besides the Nigerian State prohibiting same sex relationship through the enactment of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013, the Nigerian society frowns seriously at it to the extent of mobbing suspected LGBT exponents to death when caught in the act.
The law that prescribed 14 years for convicts is considered too lenient by citizens who often prefer to take the laws into their hands.
Crime
Suspected Gay Men In Trouble As Tradition, Police Hunt Them

A young man identified as Festus Igbineweka is in serious trouble over his alleged participation in a gay party that went sour at his father’s house on 14 Oguola Road, off Siluko Road Benin City, resulting in his being beatien up along side his partners in crime, causing bodily injuries.
Festus and Osarugue it were allegedly caught in the act kissing and expressing love towards each other, with others including Vincent Obi, Frank Okoli, John Opakunle and Felix Obasuyi who were also having similar fun in their separate room in the same apartment, doing the same thing and later began to have sex on June 30, 2023.
Eye witness account said that Festus Igbineweka reportedly got entangled with an old gay lover Osarugue Austine Edobor,now at large in an after party sex rump in Oguola, the traditional puritan enclave of the legendary Benin tradition which forbids same sex relationship.
The abominable secret meeting came to the open when Festus’ next-door neighbor Benard Akpata was knocking at the door because he was to drive out of the compound and Festus’s car was blocking the drive way. It was learnt that the renegades behaving to type had put on some loud music in the house to mask the pleasurable sounds from within.
Having knocked severally with no response, the said neighbour Bernard reportedly walked in and saw what was happening and promptly raised an alarm that drew the attention of distraught neighbours who descended on them with clubs and other dangerous weapons and repeatedly shouting, abomination!!!.
The alarm caused confusion and rage as more persons got attracted to the crime scene and joined in the beating.
The suspects Festus Igbineweka, Vincent Obi, Frank Okoli,Felix Obasuyi and John Opakunle, after the mob attack were handed over to the police by the vigilante group in the area while the rest suspects Osarugue Austine Edobor and Darlington Itoya managed to escape.
The duo of Osarugue and Darlington who
managed to escape the mob attack, took advantage of the power outage that left the house in total darkness.
Festus and his co travellers including Osarugue,Vincent Obi, Frank Okoli and John Opakunle are also wanted by the Edions (elders) of the area to perform some rituals meant to cleanse the land of the abominable act which can have dire consequences on innocent people if not exorcised.
The gay love birds including those on the run and those arrested are expected to present the atonement items which include, a live spotless white cow, 1000 cowrie shells, seven bottles of red palm oil, 100 pieces of kolanuts, 14 cloves of alligator pepper etc, while the host Fedtus Igbineweka and others arrested are also in the battle of Police prosecution.
Meanwhile, the gay exponents are unable to report the gang beating they suffered in the hand of the natives to the police because their involvement in same sex relationship, is a practice that has been criminalized in Nigeria under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013.
According to our crime reporter who visited the Ogida Divisional Police Headquarters,the suspects denied involvement in the alleged same-sex practice.
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