General
NDLEA Arrests General Overseer With Cannabis for Crusade
By Adedapo Adesanya
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a preacher and General Overseer of Christ Living Hope Church, Rev. Ugochukwu Emmanuel, for carrying 54 sticks of drugs suspected to be cannabis.
In a statement released by NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, the suspect was nabbed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos while on his way to a crusade in Nairobi, Kenya.
Rev. Ugochukwu, who was arrested on Monday in an outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi via Addis Ababa, was said to have wrapped the drugs around his body.
“When tested, the 54 sticks proved positive to cannabis. The clergyman confessed during [a] preliminary interview that he packed that quantity of illicit substance on his body to use during his three weeks crusade in Kenya,” a part of the statement issued on Sunday said.
The preacher’s church headquarters is in Isuaniocha, Mgbakwu Road, Awka, Awka North Local Government Area, Anambra State, with branches in Lagos and Abuja.
Similarly, another passenger, Mr Nnakeanyi Chukwuka King, was intercepted with 40 parcels of cocaine concealed in bottles of body cream weighing 9.70kg. They were recovered from him during a stop and search operation.
He was intercepted at the E-Arrival Hall of the MMIA and had boarded an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa.
This is as the agency intercepted one Miss Edo Blessing three days later at the Departure Hall of the airport with 2,090 tablets of Tramadol 225mg and Flunitrazepam. The suspect, who is from Edo State and had boarded an Ethiopian Airlines flight, claimed ownership of the recovered psychotropic substances.
“Also on the same day, operatives arrested a freight agent, Rafiu Abbas at the NAHCO Export Shed of the airport when he presented a cargo containing 19.15kg cannabis going to London. The illicit substance was concealed inside plastic containers labelled as African Dishes and packed in a bag,” the NDLEA added.
Also in Lagos, a 63-year-old man named Mr Vincent Obimma was arrested on Friday in the Apapa seaport corridor in Lagos with 350 grams of cocaine and 150grams of heroin. The drugs were hidden in industrial torch packets heading to Kano, Kano State.
In a related development, a Mr James Okenwa was arrested in a follow-up operation at Central Market, Kaduna. The suspect admitted ownership of 1,807 bottles of cough syrup with codeine that were earlier recovered from two suspects at the tollgate.
“At the point of his arrest, another 152 bottles of the drug were recovered from his vehicle. He has accepted ownership of all the 1,959 bottles of the codeine syrup,” the agency’s statement explained.
There were also seizures and arrests in Yobe and Anambra states. In the former, two fake security agents: Akalonu Justin and Azimbi Festus were arrested with 25 blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 12.5kg and 1, 598 bottles of Codeine Syrup weighing 159.8 Litres. They were coming from Onitsha and heading to Maiduguri in Borno State.
Another 85kg of cannabis was recovered from the warehouse of a notorious drug dealer in the Pawari area of Damaturu, the state capital on Thursday.
“In Anambra state, a total of 38,605 tablets of assorted opioids were recovered from a 29-year-old drug dealer, Awoke Friday at Nkwelle junction, Onitsha on Friday 11th March with the support of men of the Nigeria Police,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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