Controversial singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, was on Monday arraigned before the Federal High Court in Ota, Ogun State, over criminal charges including assault and resisting arrest.
Confirming the development to our correspondent, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, said Portable was arrested and arraigned in Ota on Monday.
“Yes, he was arraigned and remanded yesterday,” Babaseyi said on Tuesday.
Portable’s arraignment followed a viral video that surfaced on Sunday showing him in handcuffs, shirtless and tearfully pleading while seated on a couch in what appeared to be a police holding area.
His arrest reportedly followed allegations of assault against actress and skit maker Omobolarinde Akinyanju, better known as Ashabi Simple, who is one of the musician’s baby mamas and the mother of two of his children.
In court, Vanguard reported that the prosecution alleged that the Zazu crooner attacked Ashabi, alongside some police officers and other individuals, at his bar in the Iyana Ilogbo area on New Year’s Day.
Other alleged victims named in the charge sheet include Ileyemi Damilola, Akinyanju Oluwabusayomi, Olowu Olumide, Demilade Ogunniyi and Ebuka Odah.
The prosecution further alleged that Portable stole a Mercedes-Benz E300 valued at ₦12 million, belonging to Ileyemi Damilola and associated with car dealer Wally Dex Auto.
During the proceedings, two siblings of Ashabi Simple testified as witnesses to the alleged assault, although Ashabi herself was absent from court.
Police also alleged that the singer obstructed and assaulted a female police inspector, Ogungbe Olayemi, while she was performing her official duties.
The presiding judge declined to grant the singer bail, citing the absence of the allegedly assaulted police officer in court.
The judge ruled that the officer must be present before a decision on the bail application could be made and consequently remanded Portable in custody, adjourning the bail hearing to January 19.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command has ordered an investigation into a separate viral video allegedly showing the singer being assaulted while in custody.
The Delta State Police Command has foiled a planned kidnap operation and recovered firearms and ammunition following a covert operation by its Special Assignment Team.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, the command said operatives of the CP Special Assignment Team, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a suspected criminal hideout along a bush path in the Upper Agbarho area of the state.
According to the statement, intelligence reports indicated that about six suspected kidnappers were sighted in the area, prompting a coordinated operation at about 9:35 p.m. on January 11, 2026.
It was stated that the operation was led by Julius Robinson in collaboration with community vigilantes.
“Upon sighting the police operatives, the suspects opened fire,” the command said, adding that officers responded “with superior firepower,” forcing the suspects to flee with varying degrees of injury.
The police disclosed that the fleeing suspects abandoned weapons and other incriminating items at the scene.
Items recovered include “one FNC rifle loaded with one round of live ammunition and one pump-action gun with thirty-two rounds of live cartridges.”
“All exhibits have been recovered and taken into custody,” the statement said, noting that a manhunt had been launched to arrest the suspects who escaped.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Aina Adesola, commended the operatives for what he described as their courage and effective use of intelligence.
The CP reiterated that the command “remains resolute in denying criminal elements the space to operate,” warning that Delta State “will continue to be hostile to all forms of criminality.”
The Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as the Amotekun Corps, has arrested 38 men found in a truck suspected of coming from the northern part of the country.
The passengers were discovered inside a brand-new Mercedes-Benz truck with registration number Jigawa GML 335 XR.
During interrogation, it was gathered that the suspects could not state a definite destination within the state. They were arrested on Sunday in the Cathedral area of Akure, the state capital.
Speaking on the development, the Commander of Ondo Amotekun, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, who confirmed the arrest on Monday, said the suspects had no specific destination in the state.
He further stated that the area where the driver claimed to have picked up the passengers is considered prone to extremist activities.
The commander stated, “We will profile all of them thoroughly and anyone found culpable. After investigations, they would face the full weight of the law, while those cleared would be sent back to their states of origin.”
The Amotekun boss urged residents of the state to remain calm, assuring them that the situation was under control.
He also called on members of the public to continue providing credible information to security agencies to help sustain peace and security across the state.
A source said one of the passengers allegedly possessed a uniform bearing the inscription “Commander,” along with some charms, and told interrogators that he was a hunter and that the uniform was used for his work. However, he could not clearly explain his destination in Ondo State.
Barely three years after he was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for dealing in illicit drugs, an 80-year-old man, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, has again been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for returning to the criminal trade.
Nkanta, described by the agency as a notorious drug dealer, was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on December 14, 2022, and subsequently prosecuted and convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he was sentenced to two years in prison.
However, findings revealed that the octogenarian, who appeared unrepentant after serving his jail term, returned to the illicit drug business.
Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 10, 2025, tracked him to his residence in Mmanta–Abak village, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
A search of his house led to the recovery of 5.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed within the premises.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the agency also disclosed that its operatives recorded another major breakthrough in Akwa Ibom State with the arrest of a suspected drug trafficker using mannequins to conceal opioids.
Babafemi said NDLEA officers on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, on Friday, January 9, while he was travelling with full-body mannequins meant for his clothing business in Cameroon.
A thorough search of the mannequins, however, revealed that they were stuffed with 5.3 kilogrammes of tramadol pills.
According to the suspect, who claimed to reside in Cameroon, he was returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended.
Investigations further revealed that the drugs were purchased in Onitsha, Anambra State, and were being trafficked to Cameroon for sale using the mannequins as concealment.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives carried out coordinated raids across several locations, leading to the arrest of notorious drug dealers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances.
Among those arrested was Remi Bamidele, 45, popularly known as Aluko the Mafia, who was apprehended at Sasa area of Ibadan on Thursday, January 8.
Recovered from him were 10.696 kilogrammes of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk, all strains of cannabis. Two vehicles—a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris with registration number HG 06 LYD-were also seized from him.
At the Adegbayi area of Ibadan, NDLEA officers arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, on Friday, January 9, with various quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud and skunk.
Similarly, Habeeb Ali, 29, was arrested at Ring Road, Ibadan, with 1.264kg of Colorado, Scottish Loud and skunk, alongside a cash exhibit of ₦1,307,100, recovered at the point of his arrest on Saturday, January 10.
Edo, Niger, Taraba, Adamawa busts
In Edo State, a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, were arrested on Friday, January 9, at Ihama/Airport Road GRA, Benin City.
The arrests followed the seizure of 118 grammes of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
Also in Edo, Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, was arrested at Irrua with 17.552kg of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was apprehended at Ubiaja with 930 grammes of skunk on Wednesday, January 7.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives recovered 4,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) from a 22-year-old suspect, Nazifi Umar, at Dakwa town, Tafa Local Government Area.
Similarly, in Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested at Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47kg.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers recovered 30,950 capsules of tramadol from the residence of Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in Bachure area of Yola South Local Government Area, following his arrest at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, January 6.
Babafemi added that the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across the country in the past week.
These included sensitisation lectures at Government Day Science and Technical College, Babura, Jigawa State; Abiayubal Ansari Islamiyya School, Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State; and among youths of Oshituma Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo in Ebonyi State, among others.
While commending officers and men of the Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Oyo and Niger commands for their efforts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their operational successes.
He said their achievements, “especially the balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.”
