A protest broke out on Monday at the Peoples Democratic Party national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, as supporters aligned with the faction loyal to PDP National Vice Chairman (North Central), Mohammed Abdulrahman, stormed the facility.

The protesters, singing solidarity songs, demanded the immediate exit of the National Working Committee led by Umar Damagum from the party headquarters.

Abdulrahman was recently announced as Acting National Chairman amid escalating leadership tensions in the party. His emergence followed the suspension of the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, for one month as internal disputes deepened.

In response, a rival group loyal to Anyanwu convened a separate meeting in Abuja where it declared the suspension of the Damagum-led NWC.

The protesting faction accused the Damagum leadership of mishandling party affairs and vowed to take control of the secretariat on behalf of the Abdulrahman camp.

Security operatives have since been deployed to the scene to avert possible clashes, as both sides continued to jostle for dominance at the party headquarters.

More to come…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a music artist, Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known as Steady Boy, for allegedly attempting to receive a consignment of illicit drugs smuggled from the United States for his manager in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

The agency also disclosed that it uncovered an illicit drug laboratory in the Ajao Estate area of Lagos.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, announced the developments in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, Steady Boy was arrested after operatives intercepted large quantities of Loud concealed inside three cartons of bathtubs at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday. The shipment reportedly arrived via a DHL flight from the United States.

“The 20-year-old music artiste was nabbed at Bougain Villa, Primewater Gardens 2, Freedom Way, Lekki, Lagos, when he showed up as the consignee to take delivery of the 140 bags of Loud with a gross weight of 77.20kg on behalf of a syndicate, which includes his manager, Zion Osazee Omigie (a.k.a. Zee Money), who is currently at large,” the statement added.

Babafemi explained that intelligence gathered over several months led to the discovery of a clandestine laboratory producing Colorado in large quantities, and the suspected owner of the facility was arrested.

During the operation, “freshly cooked Colos weighing 16.2 kilograms, 1.7kg of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5kg of Potassium Carbonate, and 91 litres of Dibromobutane” were recovered from the apartment.

The statement noted that NDLEA operatives conducted another operation on Saturday, November 1, in Mushin, Lagos, where they raided the hideout of a 28-year-old drug dealer identified as Afeez Salisu (alias Malu). The operatives recovered 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud and designer sachets and bottles of Colorado weighing 16.4kg.

“In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja–Jos highway on Sunday intercepted a consignment of 84,710 capsules of tramadol coming from Onitsha, Anambra State, and heading to Bauchi. A follow-up operation in Bauchi led to the arrest of the recipient, Musa Abdulkarim, 27.

“Two days later, on Tuesday, operatives at the tollgate along the Abuja-Kaduna highway arrested Hamza Musa, 47, conveying 32,946 bottles of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance, from Lagos, while Saidu Nafiu, 30, was nabbed with 131.5kg of skunk at Kamfanin Zangon Aya, Igabi LGA, Kaduna.

“Three suspects, Seun Olaniyi, 24; Rauf Asogba, 28; and Ayinla Adeniyi, 50, were on Saturday, November 1, arrested at Abeokuta, Ogun State, after a team of NDLEA officers tracked their movement from Benin Republic and eventually intercepted their bus along Abiola Way, Abeokuta, with a total of 1,779kg of skunk recovered from them.”

Babafemi further stated that operatives arrested one Jamilu Mustapha in Nasaru town, Ningi LGA of Bauchi State, while 532,600 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered from three suspects in a truck at Oko-Olowo, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday.

He continued, “In Edo State, the NDLEA officers on patrol along Okhokho–Isi community in Uhunmwode LGA on Wednesday intercepted two Toyota Sienna buses marked EPE 545 EV and ABC 142 CD, conveying a total of 1,455kg of skunk following credible intelligence.

“In like manner, operatives in Ondo State on Tuesday, October 28, recovered a total of 2,829kg of skunk linked to a 32-year-old female suspect, Mrs Ige Olarewaju, from two locations at Ayede, Ogbese, while another suspect, Samuel Adebayo, was nabbed with 737kg of the same psychoactive substance at Adegbola Junction, Akure.”

According to the NDLEA, officers also recovered 76.5 litres of skuchies from a suspect identified as Ige Oluwale in Ibereko, Badagry, Lagos, on Friday, October 31.

Babafemi said a further operation in Taraba State on Thursday led to the recovery of 30,370 pills of tramadol and 177 grammes of methamphetamine from two suspects arrested while transporting the drugs from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.

“While commending the officers across the country for their resilience, professionalism, and balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the country, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, vowed that the agency will continue to target and dismantle every identified drug syndicate in any part of Nigeria,” the statement concluded.

The NDLEA has recorded a series of arrests and convictions in recent months as part of its intensified crackdown on drug trafficking networks.

An American criminal defense lawyer and former federal and state prosecutor, Ron Filipkowski, has questioned the mental fitness of United States President Donald Trump after the US leader threatened potential military intervention in Nigeria.

Filipkowski voiced his concerns in a post on X on Sunday, responding to Trump’s remarks about possible US action in Nigeria. According to him, “At some point, we might have to consider the fact that he might be mentally unstable.”

His remarks came shortly after Trump ordered the U.S. Department of War to begin planning for what he described as potential military operations against Nigeria. The American president accused Nigerian authorities of “failing to protect Christians” amid ongoing security crises in parts of the country.

In a message shared on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump warned that Washington would cut off aid and assistance to Nigeria if killings of Christians continued. He further signalled readiness for military engagement to, as he put it, “completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists” allegedly responsible for the attacks.

Trump wrote, “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

The U.S. president also instructed his war department to begin preparations, insisting that an American response, if launched, would be “fast, vicious, and sweet.” He argued that Christian communities in Nigeria face an existential threat and urged Abuja to act quickly to stop the killings.

Trump’s comments have sparked reactions across both countries, with critics describing his tone as provocative and dangerous. Supporters, however, view the warnings as part of his longstanding global posture of defending Christian interests.

During his previous term, Trump declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over religious-freedom issues and pressed Congress to probe allegations of Christian persecution.

Reaffirming his stance, Trump reiterated over the weekend that the United States “will not stand by” while Christians are attacked anywhere in the world, pledging continued readiness to defend Christian groups globally.

Filipkowski’s statement has renewed debate in Washington over Trump’s judgment and temperament as he seeks another term in office. Several analysts labelled the notion of military action against a US partner nation as “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling,” questioning the implications for diplomatic relations.