Richard, the only son of the former Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, passed away on Sunday morning at Cedar Crest Hospital in Abuja, after being hospitalised.

According to a statement released by the family, the exact cause of his death was not immediately known, though it was reported that he had been placed on oxygen in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit on Friday night.

His alma mater, the Vom Old Boys’ Association, also confirmed his death, stating that he passed away in Abuja after a brief illness.

The group shared on its Facebook page: “On a very sad note, we regret to announce the sudden passing of our member, Mr Richard Adamu Tallen.

“Eternal rest grant unto him oh Lord, may perpetual light shine upon him.

“May the soul of Richard and all departed VOBA members RIP. Amen.”

Richard, a 42-year-old graduate of Computer Science from a university in the United States, is survived by his wife and three children.

The family will announce the burial arrangements.

The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a Canadian national, Adrienne Munju, accused of “importing a large consignment of synthetic cannabis.”

Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, confirmed in a statement that the “41-year-old suspect” was arrested on October 3 during the inward clearance of passengers arriving on a KLM flight from Canada at terminal 1 of the Lagos airport.

According to Babafemi, Munju “was caught with 74 parcels of the illicit substance” weighing 35.20 kg, packed in two of her three bags.

In her statement, Munju revealed that she had been “recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars” upon successful delivery in Lagos. She reportedly accepted the offer to fund her ongoing master’s degree program in Canada.

Additionally, the agency intercepted “13,298,000 pills of opioids and 338,253 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup” at the Port Harcourt ports, Onne, Rivers.

Babafemi stated that the seized drugs are valued at over “N9 billion in street value” and included substances like Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol.

He added that the shipment, originating from India, was seized during a 100 percent joint examination of the containers by the NDLEA.

Furthermore, on October 3, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos “intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 50kg.” The consignment was “packed in 20 parcels, each in five jumbo bags,” hidden within a container carrying four imported vehicles from Canada.

Although the container had initially been cleared from the ESS Libra Bonded Terminal in Ikorodu, “based on credible intelligence,” NDLEA operatives traced the illicit drugs to a warehouse in Ikorodu. The drugs were found inside one of the imported vehicles, a Toyota Sienna bus.

A suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim, was arrested in connection with the seizure.

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has sworn in the newly elected council chairmen” of the 23 local government areas.

The exercise took place on Sunday at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, just hours after the chairmen were issued certificates of return by Adolphus Enebeli, the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.

Following an election held amid heightened tension on Saturday, the Action Peoples Party secured 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions, while the Action Alliance candidate won one seat.

More to come…