A 30-year-old Brazilian lady, Ms. Ingrid Rosa Benevides, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja for bringing into Nigeria a total of 30.09 kilograms of white heroin concealed in factory sealed coffee packs worth over N3 billion in street value.
The suspect who works as a private security officer in Brazil was arrested at the Abuja airport on Friday 23rd January 2026 upon her arrival on a Qatar Airways flight QR1431, following processed intelligence. After her arrest, a search was conducted on her two checked-in bags where 21 factory-sealed packets of Brazilian coffee were found.
When the coffee bags were opened, rather than containing the beverage, what was found inside were white substances that later tested positive for heroin weighing a total of 30.09 kilograms, making it the single largest heroin seizure at the Abuja airport. During her preliminary interview, the suspect claimed she brought the white heroin consignment under the guise of coming to Nigeria for holidays.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 20th January intercepted two passengers: Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko who were heading to Istanbul, Turkey, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight with a total of 3,990 pills of tapentadol 250mg and tramaking 225mg concealed in food items packed in their bags.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Marine Command of the Agency in the early hours of Thursday 22nd January intercepted a wooden boat loaded with 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms at the Jakande beach in Lekki Lagos. The shipment had barely arrived from Ghana when NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence stormed the location around 1am, recovered the consignment and the boat.
Two suspects: Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, were on Friday 23rd January arrested by NDLEA operatives in connection with the seizure of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives heading to Kano and Kaduna. The bags were intercepted in a commercial bus along Kaduna- Zaria highway, Zaria, while Aminu Ali Baba was arrested at Karota park in Kano and Abdulrasheed Abubakar nabbed at Mando park in Kaduna in swift follow-up operations. An intelligence-led raid at Kwangila, Zaria LGA Kaduna on Thursday 22nd January led to the arrest of Fatima Ibrahim, 42, and Adejimoh Ismaila, 44, with 120 kilograms of skunk recovered from them.
As part of efforts to disrupt the supply chain of illicit drugs to terror groups, NDLEA operatives in Borno state on Wednesday 21st January intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam concealed in sacks of charcoal and animal feeds in a public transport car coming from Potiskum, Yobe. A follow-up operation at Bulabulin, Maiduguri led to the arrest of the owner, Rabiu Imam, 32.
A female suspect Mrs. Eze Cynthia Chioma was on Friday 23rd January arrested in Mokwa, Niger state in a follow up operation by NDLEA operatives following the seizure of her consignment of 78,500 pills of tramadol same day at Bode Saadu, Kwara state in a truck coming from Lagos. Her husband currently remanded in prison and facing trial was arrested for the same drug trafficking offence last year.
In Ekiti, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 24th January arrested 72-year-old Afolalu Joseph at his 15 Aramoko road, Mushin, Ilawe-Ekiti and Abu Bunmi (alias Go Slow), 45, at New Jerusalem area, Erijinyan road, Ilawe-Ekiti for illicit drug dealing. A total of 62 kilograms of skunk were recovered from the duo.
A village head, Chief James Abamu and another suspect, Aboy Egah Abamu have been taken into custody by the Edo state Command of NDLEA following their arrest and prompt transfer to the Agency by soldiers of the Nigerian Army 4 Brigade, Benin city, after a raid operation at Lagos camp Ilushi in Esan South East LGA, where 681kg skunk and 181kg cannabis seeds were recovered from them on Wednesday 21st January.
While the trio of Abba Hassan, Anas Moh’d Auwal and Sadik Ismail were arrested in Sabon Gari area of Kano on Tuesday 20th January with 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection, the duo of Olajumoke Ridwan and Baruwa Ibukun were nabbed at Paris lounge, Ring road, Ibadan, Oyo state on Thursday 22nd January with 181.5 litres of skuchies, a mixture skunk and other illicit substances recovered from them.
In Benue state, a female suspect Janet Iornongu was arrested at Yes Ikyuan village, Guma LGA with 210kg skunk, while a total of 254.5kg of same psychoactive substance was seized from Anita Job along Abaji -Toto road, FCT on Thursday 22nd January. A total of 39,800 pills of tramadol 225mg were recovered from two suspects: Hamisu Misbahu and Chima Obi at Alaba Rago, Mile 2 area of Lagos on Monday 19th January.
No fewer than 30,003 pills of tramadol, molly and other opioids as well as 20 litres of codeine syrup were seized from a suspect Chinyecherem Cyprian Ugwu by NDLEA officers along Sapele road Warri, Delta state on Thursday 22nd January, while Kayode Obameye, 57, was nabbed at Mobil roundabout, Akure, Ondo state with 1,500 kilograms of skunk recovered from him on Friday 23rd January.
Across all Commands and formations of the Agency nationwide, NDLEA officers continued their War Against Drug Abuse, (WADA), sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Taraba state command of NDLEA conducts WADA enlightenment lecture for students and staff of Government Science Secondary School, Jalingo, Osun state command of NDLEA delivers WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Beloved Montessori Group of Schools, Ede, Osun state;
Owerri City Junior Secondary School, Owerri, Imo; Government Day Secondary School, Otukpo, Benue; and Darawa Primary School, Dutsinma, Katsina, among others.
While commending the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, Marine, Borno, Jigawa, Kwara, Kaduna, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Benue, Lagos and Ondo Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to maintain the current standard of professionalism in all their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.
BBNaija star, Tacha, has called for the maximum punishment for Mirabel, the lady who in a viral video claimed she was r@ped inside her home by an unknown man.
In a shocking revelation, Mirabel on Thursday, February 19, confessed to social critic, VeryDarkMan, that she lied about the r@pe claim. She claimed she was dealing with serious mental health issues which was why she came up with the false claim.
Many Nigerians have called for her to be prosecuted. In a post shared on X, Tacha also called for Mirabel’s prosecution. She opined that Mirable should be punished just the way a r@pist would be punished if found guilty.
‘’Now that its been established that Mirabel lied about the r*pe allegation, I expect the police and the agencies in charge of handling r*pe and assault cases to make sure they penalize Mirabel and that she receives the same punishment a r*pist would get… CAUSE we live in a very wicked and terrible society where r*pists and r*pe apologists are looking for excuses to continue to r*pe and abuse women..
We should NEVER allow stupid women to empower these evil and wicked men! She must be penalized”
In a follow-up video, Tacha stated that false rape claims only empower r@pe apologists to dismiss the claims of real r@pe victims whenever a fresh case of the crime surfaces.
‘’R@pe is a very serious issue. Women should never waponize r@pe for whatever reason. Never use r@pe to get back at an ex or a man. Never try to do so because at the end of the day, you are taking away from the real victims. You are Honestly!
You are empowering these r@pe apologists and r@pists because they feel like the next girl that comes out to talk about it how many people will believe her? because truthfully how many people will believe her?”
The Kebbi State Police Command has reinforced security in the Bui District of Arewa Local Government Area following a deadly armed cattle rustling incident that left 33 people dead.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, said additional personnel and operational assets had been deployed to the affected communities in collaboration with the military and other security agencies.
He said sustained area domination patrols were ongoing to stabilise the district and prevent further violence.
“The Command deeply regrets the loss of thirty-three innocent lives and extends its heartfelt condolences to the families affected and the entire Arewa community,” the statement read.
According to the police, “preliminary investigations revealed that suspected Lakurawa militants entered Bui District on February 18 to rustle cattle.
“The attackers were believed to have crossed into the area from Gudu Local Government Area”
Residents from Mamunu, Awasaka, Tungan Tsoho, Makangara, Kanzo, Gorun Naidal and Dan Mai Ago reportedly mobilised in response, leading to a fatal confrontation.
The police emphasised that incidents involving heavily armed criminal elements require coordinated security intervention and warned residents against directly engaging such groups.
“Members of the public are urged to promptly report suspicious movements through established security channels rather than confront armed criminals, as such actions pose grave risks,” Usman stated.
Meanwhile, earlier reports indicated that at least 34 people were feared killed when gunmen swept through several communities in Arewa LGA in coordinated daylight attacks, triggering panic across the wider Kebbi North Senatorial District.
Security forces have since launched targeted operations to track and apprehend the perpetrators, block escape routes and strengthen early warning mechanisms.
The Command urged residents to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies as efforts intensify to restore lasting peace in the troubled communities.
The Department of State Services has reopened investigations into the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, and is set to invite suspects in connection with the case.
Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, was declared missing on August 1, 2019, after gunmen reportedly took him from his residence in Kaduna.
His whereabouts remain unknown nearly seven years later.
The development comes as Kadijah, the wife of social media commentator and critic, expressed fresh worries over her husband’s disappearance.
She spoke in a video interview with Ambassador-designate Reno Omokri, which was released on his X handle on Thursday.
Omokri, who visited the mother of two at her residence, sought support for Kadijah and her children, pledging to get justice for her.
“We pray that one day, he will come back,” Kadijah said when asked what she had to say about her husband’s disappearance over the years, especially given recent comments made by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Appealing to Nigerians, she said, “They should please do whatever they can to help us know his whereabouts, if he’s alive or not.”
Omokri further asked Kadijah what she had to say about an old comment made about her husband that suggested “mockery.”
“It was somebody who showed me (the post) because I didn’t have a phone at that time,” she said of the 2019 comment reportedly made by the son of a former Kaduna State Governor.
The post had read, “Those same clowns who encouraged him when he was creating false stories and capitalising on lies that could endanger lives solely for political ends are the same individuals trending hashtags asking, ‘#WhereisDadiyata.’
“Dangerous lies in the public space have consequences. I felt bad about it (the comment). I can’t even explain,” Kadijah stated in the video.
She further narrated how her husband was abducted as he alighted from his car in their compound on August 2, 2019, saying she watched from the window as it happened.
Assuring Kadijah of Dadiyata’s safe return if he is alive, and justice in the unlikely event of his death, Omokri empathised with the woman and sought assistance for the family.
He appealed to the Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, for “whatever he can do for them… to help their living conditions, probably relocate them, help their education, or help the mother with a job. Nigeria owes a duty of care to this family for what has happened to them.”
Dadiyata, a lecturer and online commentator, was abducted on August 2, 2019, by unidentified gunmen as he drove into his home in Barnawa, Kaduna.
The incident has continued to attract public attention and demands for accountability.
Dadiyata’s matter resurfaced on February 14, 2026, when El-Rufai denied any involvement in the case and argued that the missing commentator was primarily critical of the Kano administration rather than the Kaduna State government.
“Dadiyata was not a fierce critic of the Kaduna State government. He was a fierce critic of the Kano State government.
“He is a Kwankwasiya guy; he lives in Kaduna and lectures at a university in Katsina State, but is a fierce critic not of Kaduna State. Go and review his timeline,” he said.
El-Rufai further stated that he was unaware of Dadiyata before the abduction was reported to the police.
“It was Ganduje that was his problem. I didn’t even know him. We only got the report of Dadiyata’s existence and the fact that he lives in Kaduna State after the family reported to the police that he was abducted as he was returning home in the evening.
“If anybody is to be asked about the disappearance of Dadiyata, it is the Kano State Government; it has nothing to do with the Kaduna State Government. We didn’t even know he existed,” he said.
Reacting, former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, dismissed being linked to the case in a statement issued by his former Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba.
He described the claims as “reckless, unfounded, and a clear attempt to shift responsibility for an incident that occurred entirely within Kaduna State.”
According to Ganduje, Dadiyata was widely known in Kaduna for his criticism of the state government.
“Everyone in Kaduna knew the nature of the criticism he made and who it was directed at,” he said.
A security source told The PUNCH that the DSS recently seized El-Rufai’s passport at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to prevent him from travelling abroad while investigations are ongoing.
“The DSS has reopened the case of the 2019 disappearance in Kaduna of a renowned government critic, Abubakar Idris, better known as Dadiyata, and several other cases of missing persons.
“El’Rufai is fully aware that the DSS is investigating him and his two sons for Dadiyata’s kidnapping.
