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.

Twelve governors from northern states, senior traditional rulers and high-ranking judges are facing potential US sanctions as Congress advances a bill alleging their involvement in a “Christian genocide” and widespread persecution under Nigeria’s sharia and blasphemy laws.

The move follows US President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” and his directive to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to act swiftly.

On Friday, Trump posted that “thousands of Christians are being killed” in Nigeria and tasked Congressman Riley Moore, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole and others to investigate the situation immediately.

The proposed Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz, lists Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious persecution and would target officials who “promoted, enacted, or maintained blasphemy laws” or “tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justification.”

Under the legislation introduced on September 9, 2025, the US Secretary of State would have 90 days after passage to submit a list of Nigerian officials, including governors, judges and monarchs, implicated in persecuting Christians or enforcing discriminatory laws.

The sanctions framework would operate under Executive Order 13818, part of the US government’s Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework, enabling visa bans, asset freezes and financial restrictions against culprits.

A key focus of the bill is the expansion of Sharia criminal law in northern Nigeria, which the measure describes as a form of blasphemy law directed principally against Christians.

Sharia, derived from Islamic jurisprudence, has long governed matters of personal, moral and communal regulation in northern Nigeria, but beginning with Zamfara state under Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima around 1999-2000, twelve states extended it to include criminal law and public morality.

States that adopted full Sharia penal codes include Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger and Gombe.

In contrast, states such as Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Adamawa — despite significant Muslim populations — maintain secular legal systems where Sharia applies only to personal matters like marriage and inheritance rather than criminal law.

Recently, the Sharia Council announced an expansion into southern states, beginning with Oyo and Ogun, triggering tensions between Christian and Muslim groups over the potential introduction of criminal Sharia law in those states.

The council later clarified it was not launching courts but offering arbitration panels to resolve Muslim-related disputes, easing some concerns among religious communities.

Senator Cruz defended his bill, stating that Nigeria’s leadership had “institutionalised sharia law and enabled jihadist violence.” He claimed “Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria is endemic. Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been murdered, 20,000 churches and faith institutions destroyed, and dozens of villages wiped out.”

The Federal Government, in response, published a policy note titled “Nigeria’s Constitutional Commitment to Religious Freedom and Rule of Law,” saying Nigeria’s Constitution forbids the adoption of a state religion, guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, and prohibits discrimination based on religion.

The government argued that “Sharia in Nigeria is not a nationwide, compulsory system,” explaining that criminal Sharia laws apply only in certain northern states and only to Muslims, while non-Muslims remain outside its scope.

It stated that the country does not have a federal offence of blasphemy, and that applicable public-order offences are religion-neutral and apply to all faiths.

The policy note also asserted that Christian organisations operate freely in Nigeria, build churches, run schools, hold public offices and participate fully in civic life.

Despite these assurances, human rights groups continue to raise concerns that ambiguous blasphemy laws and selective enforcement have allowed mob justice and extrajudicial killings, condemning the death of 21-year-old Deborah Samuel in Sokoto after she was lynched over alleged blasphemy and other similar cases in Bauchi and Kano.

Diplomatic experts have warned that a CPC designation and potential sanctions may lead to reduced US funding for Nigeria, hinder intelligence sharing and weaken joint military cooperation, since the US is a key supplier of sophisticated weapons and training for Nigeria’s security forces.

They argue that diminished engagement could undermine Nigeria’s ability to counter insurgency and meet its security needs, especially given recent tensions in US-Nigeria relations under President Tinubu’s administration.

A prominent former Nigerian ambassador said the situation should prompt renewed focus on protecting lives and property, warning that the lack of senior‐level US-Nigeria engagement has exacerbated misinterpretation of events in Washington.

Credit: The Punch