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JUST IN: NDLEA Arrests General Overseer With Drugs At Lagos Airport

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the General Overseer of Christ Living Hope Church, Reverend Ugochukwu Emmanuel Ekwem, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport for drug peddling

The cleric was arrested while on his way to a three-week crusade in Nairobi, Kenya, with 54 sticks of drugs wrapped around his body.

The popular preacher who has his church headquartered in Isuaniocha, Mgbakwu road, Awka, Awka North LGA, Anambra State, and two other branches in Lagos and Abuja, was arrested on Monday 7th March, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi via Addis Ababa.

In a statement by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, titled, ‘Church General Overseer arrested with drugs at Lagos airport’, the NDLEA said when the drugs were tested, the 54 sticks proved positive to cannabis.


According to the statement, 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.

The statement read, “On the same day, another passenger, Nnakeanyi Chukwuka King who arrived at the airport on Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa was intercepted during the inward clearance of passengers at the E-Arrival Hall of the MMIA. During a search of his luggage, forty (40) parcels of Cocaine concealed inside bottles of body cream with a gross weight of 9.70kg were recovered from the suspect.

“Three days later, Wednesday 9th March, another passenger on Ethiopian Airlines flight to Italy, Mr. Edo Blessing was intercepted at the Departure Hall of the airport with 2, 090 tablets of Tramadol 225mg and Flunitrazepam. The suspect who hails from Edo state but lives in Italy 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 labeled as “African Dishes” and packed in a bag.

“In a related development, a 63-year-old Vincent Obama was on Friday 11th March arrested with 350grams of cocaine and 150grams of heroin by NDLEA operatives at a park in the Apapa seaport corridor in Lagos. The drugs were hidden in industrial torch packets heading to Kano, Kano state.

“Meanwhile, a drug dealer in Kaduna state, James Okenwa has been arrested in a follow-up operation at Central Market, Kaduna. He admitted the 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 codeine syrup.

“In Yobe state, two fake security agents: Akalonu Justin and Azimbi Festus who were coming from Onitsha and heading to Maiduguri, Borno state have been arrested with 25 blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 12 .5kg and 1, 598 bottles of Codeine Syrup weighing 159.8 Liters, while 85kg of cannabis was also recovered from the warehouse of a notorious drug dealer in Patwari area of Damaturu, the state capital on Thursday 10th March.

“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.

“While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Apapa Port, Kaduna, Yobe and Anambra Commands of the Agency for the impressive seizures and arrests in the past week, Chairman/ Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their colleagues across the country to stay focussed and intensify efforts to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs and substances.”

BIG STORY

FULL LIST: Tinubu Appoints IBB’s Son, Muhammad Babangida Chairman Bank Of Agriculture, Others As Heads Of Govt Agencies

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Muhammad Babangida, the son of the former military President, as chairman of the revamped Bank of Agriculture.

President Tinubu approved the appointment today, along with seven others. Some of them will serve as chairmen or directors-general of Federal agencies.

Muhammad Babangida, 53, is an alumnus of the European University in Montreux, Switzerland, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Public Relations and Business Communication. He later attended Harvard Business School’s Executive Program on Corporate Governance in 2002.

Others appointed by the President are:

Lydia Kalat Musa (Kaduna State) Chairman, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA).

Jamilu Wada Aliyu (Kano State) Chairman, National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

The Hon. Yahuza Ado Inuwa (Kano State) is the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) chairman.

Sanusi Musa (SAN, Kano State) is the Chairman of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution(IPCR).

Prof. Al-Mustapha Alhaji Aliyu (Sokoto State) is the Director-General of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA).

Sanusi Garba Rikiji (Zamfara State) is the Director-General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN).

Mrs Tomi Somefun (Oyo State) is the Managing Director of the National Hydro-Electric Power Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC).

Dr Abdulmumini Mohammed Aminu-Zaria (Kaduna State) has been appointed Executive Director of the Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC).

 

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President

(Information & Strategy)

July 18, 2025

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Buhari Never Wanted To Congratulate Saraki, Dogara After Emerging Senate President, Speaker — Femi Adesina

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Femi Adesina, who served as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, revealed that Buhari was initially unwilling to congratulate Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara after they controversially became Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2015.

Adesina shared this in a tribute to Buhari, reflecting on his early experience as the president’s media aide and the difficulty of balancing loyalty with professional duty.

He explained that the incident happened just nine days after he took up the role of presidential spokesman.

According to Adesina, Saraki and Dogara emerged as leaders of the National Assembly against the preference of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Although their emergence was viewed as defiant, it still adhered to constitutional norms.

“I told the President we needed to congratulate them. He balked. But I stood my ground. He said no, I also said no. I said it would portray him as undemocratic,” Adesina wrote.

He noted that Buhari later agreed to issue the statement, making only a small addition to the final version.

“At the end of the day, he reasoned with me and the statement was written, with him just adding one word,” he stated.

“Keeping to his word is part of the famed integrity. Argue with me. If you have a better point, I’ll agree with you.”

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BIG STORY

Road To 2027: Everyone Afraid Of Atiku — Dele Momodu Claims As He Joins ADC

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Dele Momodu, the publisher of Ovation International, has said that “everyone is afraid” of former vice-president Atiku Abubakar.

He made this remark while giving reasons for leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to join the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Momodu also confirmed that he would be backing Atiku in the 2027 presidential election.

During an appearance on Channels TV on Thursday, Momodu stated that his endorsement of Atiku stems from a strategic understanding of Nigeria’s political dynamics.

He said: “Everybody is afraid of Atiku, and that is exactly why I, Dele Momodu, support him.

“The fear the ruling party has for him shows he remains the most formidable opposition figure today.

“When everyone is trying to discredit or silence a man, it means he’s the one they truly fear.”

Momodu previously ran for president in 2011 and took part in the PDP presidential primaries in 2022.

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