A Chinese businessman Liang Tak You and an 80-year-old grandma Mrs. Grace Ekpeme top the list of arrests made by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in nationwide interdiction operations leading to the seizure of consignments of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis hidden in moimoi sachets and Canadian Loud, another strong strain of cannabis concealed in canned food items imported from Canada.
Liang was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos on Friday 25th July 2025 based on actionable intelligence.
The suspect, who arrived Nigeria from Bangkok via Dubai, UAE, on Emirates Airline flight, is a Chinese national, naturalised and based in Malaysia, but flew to Thailand where he picked two suitcases filled with 50 parcels of Loud weighing 26.10kg before heading to Nigeria via UAE.
Upon his arrival at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives who were tracking his movement from his port of departure allowed him to pass through necessary protocols before picking him up on his way out of the airport.
The octogenarian grandma Mrs. Grace Ekpeme was arrested at Edet-Nsa street, Base Site, Calabar South, Cross River state with over 3kg skunk in the early hours of Saturday 26th July following intelligence on her drug dealing activities.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 23rd July intercepted a suspect Chidi Agbafo along Epe – Ajah expressway while taking consignments of 21.7kg Colorado, some of which were packaged in moimoi cooking sachets and 3.8litres of codeine based syrub in a commercial bus to deliver in Warri and Oghara, Delta state.
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a total of 101kg Canadian Loud factory packed in 202 tins of imported food item labelled ‘Bean Salad Mix’ and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses in a container that came from Canada, were recovered.
The discovery was made during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies on Friday 25th July.
No fewer than 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam and exol-5 were recovered from Usman Musa by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Abuja- Kaduna highway on Wednesday 23rd July when the suspect was travelling with the consignment of opioids in a commercial bus going to Kano.
In Borno, a 30-year-old lady Binta Usman was on Wednesday 23rd July arrested by NDLEA officers who recovered 30.1kg skunk from her house at Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri.
A follow up operation later led to the arrest of her accomplice Bala Abdullahi in the same area of the Borno state capital on Friday 25th July.
Three brothers: Nanna Ozirinye, Chizom Ozirinye and Maxwell Ozirinye were on Saturday 26th July arrested when NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis plantation at bending corner forest, Idoani, Ose local council area of Ondo State where they destroyed 2,500 kilograms of skunk on an hectare of land and recovered already processed 121.4kg of same psychoactive substance.
In Edo state, NDLEA officers on Wednesday 23rd July raided the Asakpa community in Benin city, where they arrested a 26-year-old lady Bright Sunday Okon and recovered various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona and skunk, all strains of cannabis as well as Methamphetamine from her.
While a total of 105.4kg skunk was recovered by NDLEA operatives from an abandoned Honda car marked ABC 204 KM in Keffi, Nasarawa state, their counterparts in Niger state on Monday 21st July arrested a suspect Bashir Abdullahi with 6,400 pills of tramadol 225mg at Kasuwan Gwari area of Minna, even as a notorious drug dealer Jamiu Omolaja was taken into custody and 113kg skunk retrieved from his enclave in Ifo, Ogun state on Thursday 24th July after a violent resistance and attack on NDLEA operatives by members of his gang.
A total of 10,910 capsules of tramadol were seized from a suspect Adamu Adamu (a.k.a Dankyado) by NDLEA officers on patrol along Gombe-Bajoga road, Gombe state on Saturday 26th July, while operatives in Kogi state on Thursday 24th July intercepted a consignment of skunk concealed inside garri, dried scent leaves, and other food items along Okene-Lokoja highway.
A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala who was planning to travel to Katsina state with the cargo and later to Qatar.
Similarly, operatives in Kogi on Saturday 26th July recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 700 grams of skunk from a truck at a motor park in Ayingba area of the state.
The War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Komu/Babaode High School, Babaode, Itesiwaju LGA, Oyo state; Beacon Christian Academy, Ngodo, Afikpo LGA, Ebonyi; Government Day Secondary School, Araba, Illela, Sokoto; and Government Junior College, Agege, Lagos; while the Anambra state command of NDLEA paid WADA advocacy visit to the traditional rulers of Awka community, Obi Gibson Nwosu, Ezeuzu 11 and Ukpo community, Igwe Robert Eze, Okofia VI, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Borno, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna and Kogi Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Seven women d!ed while 11 others were injured during a protest in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
According to Daily Trust, the women were protesting what they termed delayed response by the military to calm tensions between Bachama and Chobo communities of the LGA, when the incident occurred on Monday, December 8, 2025.
The women, who were seen holding leaves blocked the movement of troops into the area, accusing security agencies of delayed responses and biased interventions in favour of the Chobo community.
However, during the confrontation, sources said the military allegedly fired shots into the crowd and four of the women d!ed on the spot, while three others d!ed in the hospital. It was further learnt that 11 others, who were injured are currently receiving treatment.
“They came out peacefully, carrying leaves, begging for security, instead, they were met with live gunfire.
“The wounded were rushed to Numan General Hospital, where medical officials say some remain in critical condition,” District Head of Gyawana, a community in Lamurde LGA, Chief Agoso Bamaiyi, said.
Meanwhile, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Lamurde Local Government Area, following the incident.
The directive was announced on Monday in a statement issued by the Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Hussaini Hammangabdo, who confirmed that the governor has instructed security operatives to immediately move into the troubled communities
The statement said Fintiri had ordered security agencies to respond swiftly to the renewed crisis to re-establish stability and prevent further breakdown of law and order.
The Adamawa State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Lamurde Local Government Area with immediate effect following a renewed communal clash that broke out on Sunday evening,” the statement read.
Hammangabdo said security agencies have been directed to move into the area and restore peace and order without delay.
The state government also appealed to residents of Lamurde to remain peaceful and cooperate with the deployed personnel as efforts intensify to contain the situation and avert additional violence.
The fresh violence erupted barely days after Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri brokered a fragile peace deal between the warring Chobo and Bachama groups, according to Dr. Jamila Suleiman, Executive Vice Chairperson of the Adamawa State Peace Commission
When contacted on phone, the police spokesman, Adamawa State Command, S.P. Suleiman Nguroje, confirmed that some people lost their lives and that the injured were taken to a hospital for treatmen
“Actually lives were lost. But for now, we cannot give the total number of people that lost their lives but the injured have been taken to a hospital for treatment,” he said.
Nguroje said that based on the reports he received in the morning, the incident centered within Rugange and neighbouring villages, down to Wadugo
Asked on the cause of the incident, the spokesman said police had been drafted to the area to investigate the root cause, so he will not pre-empt their finding
“I plead that we should give them the opportunity to come out with their findings on what must have triggered the conflict so as to make it known to the members of the public,” he added.
The Kogi State Government has said security operatives have intercepted a group of underage children trafficked into the state in what is suspected to be a covert recruitment attempt for banditry training.
The State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 said some suspects linked to the trafficking operation were arrested.
“At about 1500hrs on December 5, 2025, eagle-eyed security operatives of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Yagba Area Command, in collaboration with other security agencies in Isanlu, acting on credible intelligence from community hunters, intercepted a truck conveying 21 children aged between six and 17 years into Kogi State,” the commissioner stated.
He said initial investigations revealed that the children were moved from different northern states under suspicious circumstances by adults who could not provide legitimate justification for their movement.
“Several suspects linked to the trafficking operation have been arrested, including individuals who claimed they were transporting the children to establish an informal ‘Islamic school’ within Yagba East,” he said.
Fanwo added that further arrests were made as security operatives intensified surveillance in the area, uncovering additional persons allegedly connected to the movement of the minors.
“Some of the suspects were also found with items raising significant security concerns,” he said, adding that the rescued children had been transferred to the NSCDC State Command in Lokoja for detailed investigation and proper profiling of all persons involved.
He said Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had directed the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to take full custody of the underage victims, ensure their wellbeing and provide necessary psychosocial support pending the conclusion of investigations.
“Upon completion of profiling and verification, the children will be handed over to their respective state governments for further investigation and eventual reintegration with their families,” he noted.
The commissioner, however, said all individuals found culpable in the trafficking operation would be prosecuted in line with Kogi State’s child trafficking and child rights protection laws.
“The Kogi State Government reiterates its uncompromising stance against child trafficking, criminal infiltration and any form of security threat.
“The administration of Governor Ododo will continue to work closely with security agencies and local communities to safeguard every part of the state,” he added.
A 64-year-old man who worked as a “Santa for hire” in New Jersey, United States, has been arrested after authorities accused him of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, raising concerns over his repeated interactions with children during holiday events.
As reported by Daily Star on Tuesday, Mark Paulino, of Hamilton Township, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, as well as endangering the welfare of a child.
According to Mercer County officials, the investigation began on 4 December 2025, when detectives were alerted to suspicious activity involving the alleged uploading of child pornography from a Hamilton Township residence.
The probe quickly identified Paulino, who had previously worked as a retired elementary school teacher, as the person involved.
Police said Paulino had presented himself online as a retired teacher and had recently performed as Santa Claus for photographs and private, corporate, and organisational events, a role that brought him into repeated contact with children.
“Because this role involved direct, repeated contact with children, detectives worked around the clock to secure a search warrant,” authorities said.
The warrant was executed on 5 December, during which police seized multiple items of evidentiary value, and Paulino was arrested without incident.
Prosecutors have since filed a motion to detain him pending trial, and the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.
