Metro

Pandemonium As Armed Robbery Suspects Invade Radio Station In Kogi

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2025

Suspected armed robbers have attacked Radio Nigeria, Prime 101.5FM, located in Jimgbe, Kogi State, carting away transmission equipment valued at millions of naira.

The daring operation occurred in the early hours of Saturday and lasted for over three hours without any response or interception from security operatives in the area.

Confirming the incident to journalists on Sunday, the General Manager of the station, Mr. Momoh-Jimoh Adeiza, expressed deep concern over the attack, which has forced the station off-air.

“This is a major blow to our operations. We are currently off air because our vital broadcast equipment has been stolen. The criminals tied up our security guard before proceeding with their operations. Where do we go from here?” he lamented.

Adeiza urged security agencies to intensify efforts to track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

He also confirmed that the Zonal Director of the station had been informed of the incident.

“I’m appealing to the relevant authorities and stakeholders to come to our aid so that we can resume operations and continue serving the public,” he added.

Narrating his ordeal, the security guard on duty, Mr. Daniel Haruna, revealed that the robbers were heavily armed and operated with dangerous weapons, including guns and cutlasses.

“They were more than ten of them. They came around 1:00 a.m., and when they spotted me with a flashlight, they immediately tied me to a tree and blindfolded me.

“I couldn’t cry out for help because I was completely helpless. They ransacked the premises for over three hours. It was a terrifying experience I never imagined I would go through”, he recounted.

Items reportedly stolen include copper components of the feeder lines, 22 pieces of transmission modules, armoured cables, generator batteries, and other essential broadcast infrastructure.

Beyond the theft, the extensive destruction inflicted on the station’s facilities has raised serious concerns among staff and stakeholders.

The incident is the latest in a series of security challenges facing media institutions and critical infrastructure across the country.

Metro

Soldiers Kill Three Terrorist Kingpins In Sokoto

Published

2 hours ago

July 27, 2025

Editor

Troops of the Joint Task Force under Operation FANSAN YAMMA have eliminated three notorious terrorist kingpins in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The operation, which took place on Friday, was a carefully executed ambush between Mallamawa and Mazau villages in the Tsamaye/Mai Lalle District.

According to military authorities, the terrorists, identified as Kachalla Nagomma, Gurmu, and Ali Yar Daribiyar, were intercepted while attempting to extort ransom and levies from locals in the area.

Three AK-47 rifles with magazines and a motorcycle were recovered from the scene during the operation.

The success of the mission has been met with widespread jubilation in the affected communities of Mai Lalle, Tsamaye, Rimaye, and nearby areas in Sabon Birni and Goronyo LGAs.

Residents, long terrorised by the activities of the neutralised criminals and their foot soldiers, expressed relief and renewed confidence in the security efforts.

Operation FANSAN YAMMA, a security initiative aimed at restoring peace and stability across Nigeria’s North West and parts of the North Central region, reaffirmed its commitment to intensifying counter-terrorism efforts in collaboration with local communities.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Media Information Officer of OPFY, Captain David Adewusi, called on the public to continue sharing timely and credible information that can aid ongoing military operations.

“The Joint Task Force remains resolute in its mission to eradicate terrorism and restore lasting peace to all affected areas,” Adewusi said.
(PUNCH)

Metro

NDLEA Arrests Chinese Businessman, 80-yr-old Grandma With Colos In Moimoi Sachets

Published

9 hours ago

July 27, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a Chinese businessman, an 80-year-old woman, and several others in a series of nationwide drug interdiction operations that led to the seizure of large quantities of synthetic and imported cannabis, opioids, and other illicit substances.

The agency made the arrests across multiple states between July 21 and July 26, 2025, according to a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.

One of the suspects, a Chinese national identified as Liang Tak You, was arrested on Friday, July 25, at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Babafemi disclosed that NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, apprehended Liang after he arrived from Bangkok via Dubai aboard an Emirates flight. He was found with two suitcases containing 50 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 26.1 kilograms.

In Calabar, Cross River State, 80-year-old Grace Ekpeme was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, July 26, with over 3 kilograms of cannabis at her residence in the Edet-Nsa area of Calabar South.

Also in Lagos, on July 23, NDLEA operatives intercepted Chidi Agbafo along the Epe-Ajah Expressway with 21.7 kilograms of Colorado cannabis, some of it disguised in moimoi sachets, and 3.8 litres of codeine syrup.

He was allegedly transporting the drugs to Warri and Oghara in Delta State.

At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, officers seized 101 kilograms of Canadian Loud concealed in 202 tins of food labeled “Bean Salad Mix.” The cannabis was hidden in two Toyota Sienna buses inside a container that arrived from Canada. The seizure was made during a joint operation with Customs and other security agencies on July 25.

On July 23, along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, NDLEA operatives arrested Usman Musa, who was traveling to Kano in a commercial bus with 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5.

In Maiduguri, Borno State, a woman identified as Binta Usman was arrested on July 23 with 30.1 kilograms of cannabis. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of her alleged accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, on July 25.

In Ondo State, three brothers, Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye, were arrested on July 26 after operatives raided a cannabis farm at Bending Corner Forest, Idoani, in Ose Local Government Area. About 2,500 kilograms of cannabis were destroyed, and 121.4 kilograms of processed cannabis were recovered.

In Edo State, NDLEA officers raided Asakpa community in Benin City on July 23 and arrested Bright Sunday Okon, 26, recovering quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona, skunk, and methamphetamine.

Other arrests and seizures include: 105.4kg of skunk from an abandoned car in Keffi, Nasarawa State; 6,400 tramadol pills from Bashir Abdullahi in Minna, Niger State; 113kg of cannabis from Jamiu Omolaja’s base in Ifo, Ogun State; and 10,910 tramadol capsules from Adamu Adamu along Gombe-Bajoga road.

NDLEA also said a consignment of skunk concealed in food items was intercepted in Kogi, with a follow-up leading to the arrest of Kindness Bala, 27, in Abuja, who planned to travel to Katsina and later Qatar.

The agency added that 23,600 tramadol pills, 300 ampoules of pentazocine, and 700 grams of cannabis seized from a truck in Ayingba, Kogi State.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s commands in Lagos, Cross River, Ondo, Edo, Borno, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna, and Kogi States for their efforts.

He also praised operatives nationwide for maintaining a balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction.

Metro

Police Arrest ‘One-chance’ Suspects Linked To Killing Of Benue Lady, Grace Alewa In Abuja

Published

9 hours ago

July 27, 2025

Editor

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspected members of a notorious “one-chance” robbery syndicate allegedly responsible for the abduction and killing of Grace Godwin Alewa, a 23-year-old petrol station attendant.

Grace, who hailed from Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, was reportedly abducted on Friday, July 11, while returning home from work.

She had unknowingly boarded a commercial vehicle operated by kidnappers posing as transporters.

After dispossessing her of her belongings, the criminals contacted her family and demanded a ransom of N1 million for her release.

It remains unclear whether the ransom was paid or negotiations were ongoing when Grace was murdered.

Her body was later found dumped along Abubakar Street in the Alex Ekwueme District of Jabi. She was discovered around 6:00 a.m. the next morning and rushed to the hospital by police operatives, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Her death triggered outrage, especially after misleading social media claims suggested she had been involved in a transactional relationship.

These claims were strongly denied by her family and colleagues, who described her as a hardworking young woman on her way home from work.

In response to the incident, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, ordered a tactical manhunt and directed operatives to intensify efforts to dismantle one-chance syndicates in the capital.

Acting on this directive, the Scorpion Squad led by ACP Victor Godfrey launched a series of intelligence-led raids between July 12 and 26, which led to the arrest of three suspects: Sunday Uduma, also known as Akidi, aged 39 and from Ohafia in Abia State; Godwin Eze, aged 39 from Cross River State; and Nnaiji Ikenna, aged 33 from Imo State.

Police sources disclosed that the arrests were made through what they described as “actionable reconstructive digital intelligence.”

The suspects are said to have made useful confessional statements linking them to the crime. The black Mazda 323 vehicle allegedly used in the operation has also been recovered.

Further investigations revealed that one of the suspects, Sunday Uduma, had previously been arrested on February 11, 2024, for a similar one-chance robbery and was remanded at the Keffi Correctional Facility.

It is yet to be determined how he regained freedom and resumed criminal activities.

The police stated that the suspects remain in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.