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NDLEA Rearrests 83-Year-Old Drug Convict, Nabs South African with 32.7kg Cannabis

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for alleged drug trafficking, barely a year after she was convicted of the same offence, and arrested a South African woman with 32.74kg of cannabis in Rivers State.

 

The agency also intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs in Lagos, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River and Ondo states, while recovering firearms and ammunition during a raid in Plateau State.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the octogenarian was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

“Her re-arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that she runs a notorious drug joint that harbours criminal elements who terrorise the community,” the statement partly read.

The statement recalled that she was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, with 50g of methamphetamine, 522g of skunk, 260g of fresh cannabis leaves and 12g of tramadol.

According to the NDLEA, both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released by the court.

“Undeterred, the notorious old woman promptly returned to the criminal trade and escalated the scale by setting up a drug joint where she harbours dangerous characters,” the agency added.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives, working with the Nigeria Customs Service, arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a cannabis strain weighing 32.74kg.

The drugs were concealed in two travelling bags.

“The suspect had travelled from Thailand via Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431. She confessed to having previously trafficked through other African countries, and was expanding her route to Port Harcourt when she was caught,” the statement read.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of tapentadol, each weighing 250mg, imported from Pakistan.

The 307.20kg consignment was discovered in nine cartons aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight after the shipment was placed under surveillance upon arrival on September 29. A joint examination conducted on October 6 uncovered the drugs.

In a separate operation, the agency intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado, weighing 75.90kg, concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom.

Four suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. They were identified as a 54-year-old clearing agent, John Edrah; a 54-year-old Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola; Adetunji Adebayo; and a 48-year-old clothing trader, Kazeem Damola Dosunmu.

According to the statement, Ajibola said the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu said his consignment came from another UK-based man identified as Yusuf.

In Cross River State, operatives raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on October 4, arresting 46-year-old Adama Inuwa and recovering 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg, alongside 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, three suspects — Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20 — were arrested after operatives intercepted a Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area.

Another suspect, Ojugo Mercy, 26, was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989g of Loud, 13g of Colorado and 83g of methamphetamine.

In Ondo State, operatives arrested 21-year-old Happy Endurance in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, recovering 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg.

A separate raid at Oba-Ile, Akure, led to the arrest of Tunde Adebayo, 42, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351kg.

In Taraba State, two suspects, Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, were arrested at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on October 9, with 166,200 tablets of tramadol weighing 107kg.

Similarly, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road led to the arrest of Yahaya Musa, 32, with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.

In Kaduna State, operatives arrested Mohammed Musa, 29, along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027kg.

In Lagos, another suspect, Musbau Balogun Adekunle, was arrested in the Orile area on October 6 with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives recovered firearms and ammunition during a raid on the residence of Christian Chukwudi Uju, 45, at Rukuba Road, Jos, Plateau State, on October 8.

The items recovered included 47g of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.

Babafemi said the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.

The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), commended the officers for their “professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations”.

He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to “continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency”.

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Police Kill Suspect, Recover Two Stolen Vehicles, Items In Ogun

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The Ogun State Police Command has killed a suspected armed robber and recovered two vehicles, a locally made pistol and several items believed to have been stolen during a raid in Ota, Ogun State.

 

The operation took place in the early hours of yesterday at Ijaba, Iyesi, Ota, following a distress call from a resident reporting suspected criminal activity.
According to a statement by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, operatives from the Onipanu Division, under the Ota Area Command, arrived at the scene at about 1.45 a.m. but came under gunfire from the suspected robbers.
The officers reportedly returned fire, killing one of the suspects, while other members of the gang escaped with gunshot injuries.
Babaseyi said a search of the area led to the recovery of a Nissan Almera and a Toyota Camry, alongside several items suspected to have been stolen.

The recovered property included HP and Dell laptops, a PlayStation console, four mobile phones, a Samsung television, a standing fan, a rechargeable radio, a Wi-Fi device, clothing, an OPay ATM card and other household items.
The police also recovered a locally made pistol, two live cartridges and seven spent cartridges from the deceased suspect.
Other items found at the scene included a Tecno mobile phone, three passport photographs, an MTN SIM pack, two National Identification Number (NIN) cards and an undisclosed amount of cash.

The police spokesperson said efforts were ongoing to track down the fleeing suspects, particularly those who might have sustained gunshot injuries.

He added that investigations were also underway to establish the owners of the recovered vehicles and property and determine whether they were connected to other criminal activities.

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Hijab Ban: MURIC Demands Suspension Of Law School Exams , Threatens Protests

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The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for the suspension of examinations at all Nigerian Law School campuses following alleged harassment, intimidation and exclusion of female Muslim students wearing hijab from examination halls.

 

The Islamic human rights organisation also demanded an investigation into the incidents, which reportedly occurred during the final examinations for candidates seeking admission to the Nigerian Bar on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

MURIC warned that it would mobilise parents, Muslim youths and other stakeholders for peaceful protests across Law School campuses nationwide if its demands were not met.

The Nigerian Law School had not responded to the allegations in the statement at the time of writing.

The organisation’s position was contained in a press statement issued on Sunday by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

According to Akintola, several hijab-wearing female candidates were allegedly prevented from entering examination halls in different parts of the country because of their religious attire.

He said some candidates were reportedly made to stand outside examination halls for about an hour and were only allowed to enter after removing their hijabs.

“There was harassment and intimidation of hijab-wearing female Muslim students in some Law School examination halls across the country yesterday, Saturday, October 31, 2026,” Akintola said.

“Hijabites who came hoping to sit for their call-to-bar final examinations were disallowed from entering the examination halls. In some places, they were forced to remain standing outside for about one hour until they removed their hijabs before they were allowed to enter and start the examination.”

The MURIC director said the organisation received numerous telephone calls, text messages and online messages from distressed candidates, their parents and concerned Muslims during the incidents.

“While this was going on, our office was inundated with telephone calls, text messages and chats. We heard the cries of traumatised candidates, the lamentations of distressed parents hundreds of kilometres away from the examination centres and the agitation of concerned Muslims around the country,” he said.

Describing the alleged incidents as an infringement on the candidates’ rights, Akintola said the organisation strongly condemned what it considered an unjustifiable disruption of their educational and professional pursuits.

“MURIC strongly condemns the wanton disruption of the lawful educational pursuit of innocent Muslim ladies. It is crude, irrational and sadistic,” he said.

The organisation expressed particular concern that “it is the Law School, the bastion of law education and the centre of legal excellence, that is involved in the denigration of court pronouncements.”

He cited Section 38(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to manifest and propagate religious beliefs.

MURIC also referenced the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Lagos State Government & Ors v. Asiyat Abdulkareem, which it said affirmed that banning or restricting the hijab amounted to discrimination.

The organisation further argued that the alleged treatment of the candidates violated Section 42 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination.

Akintola also cited Section 34(1)(a), which protects the dignity of the human person and prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

“The forceful undressing of our daughters at Law School examination centres in Nigeria is an open contravention of Section 34(a), which upholds the dignity of the human person by declaring authoritatively, unequivocally and emphatically that no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment,” he said.

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Police Rescue Six Abducted Farmers In Niger

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The police have rescued six farmers abducted by armed bandits in Mahangi village, near Pandogari, in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

 

The victims were rescued during a joint security operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services, DSS, special hunters and local vigilantes.

The Niger State Police Command said security operatives tracked the suspected bandits to their hideout following the abduction of the farmers while working on their farms.

The rescued victims were taken to the police division for profiling before being reunited with their families, while the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Minna, commenced an investigation into the incident.

According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the operation was among several security successes recorded by the Nigeria Police Force across six states within 48 hours.

In Zamfara State, he stated that police tactical teams, working with local vigilantes, rescued five elderly women abducted during an attack on a farm in Dansadau, Maru Local Government Area.

The attack, which occurred on October 29, reportedly left a 35-year-old farmer dead, while the women were abducted as they harvested beans.

The police said security operatives engaged the attackers in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee.

The five women were rescued unhurt, while bush-combing and tracking operations were ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.

In Kebbi State, joint security forces repelled an attack by suspected Lakurawa fighters on Ribah town in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area on October 30.

The attackers reportedly regrouped and launched an assault from different directions after security operatives foiled an earlier attempt to block Rambo Junction.

The security forces engaged the attackers and successfully repelled the assault.

The State Criminal Investigation Department, Birnin Kebbi, is investigating the incident.

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