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Italy bound 23-year-old excretes 59 wraps heroin at Abuja airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 23-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Okoguale Douglas, who excreted 59 wraps of heroin weighing 781.2 grammes at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this followed his arrest at the airport while trying to board a Milan, Italy bound flight.
Babafemi said Douglas, who hails from Uromi in Esan North-East Local Government area of Edo state, was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA during an outward clearance of Ethiopian airline flight number 910 at the boarding gate of the airport enroute Abuja-Addis Ababa-Milan.
He said after being scanned, the results proved positive for ingestion of the substance.
Babafemi said: “Under interrogation, he claimed he has been residing in Italy since 2011 after entering the country via Libya with one of his uncles.
‘’He said he works as a restaurant attendant in Italy where he earns 900 Euro per month and also works as a painter on his free days and gets about 400 Euro upon completion of any work. He also confessed he was promised 2000 Euro if he successfully delivers the drug to Milan, Italy.
“He said he came to Nigeria on April 4, 2021 for the burial of his late father in Esan, Edo state and after spending so much during the burial, he ran out of money, a situation that made him to ask for financial support from one of his Nigerian friends resident in Italy.
“He further claimed that his friend then told him he would send him money on the ground that he will collect a consignment for him from one other friend of his in Nigeria. To facilitate that, he promised to send him a number to call.
“He said contrary to the initial arrangement, he claimed he was called by a man on Thursday April 29, 2021 and asked him to come down to Abuja where he was picked up by two other unknown men from Utako area and lodged in a hotel which he claimed he doesn’t know the address.
“The suspect also claimed that the two men brought the wrapped drug to him in a hotel on Friday night after which he swallowed the 59 pellets early on Saturday May 1st, 2021 and was promised 2000 Euro on successful delivery to Milan, Italy.
“Commander, NAIA Command of the Agency, Kabir Sani Tsakuwa said efforts are still ongoing to unravel other suspects connected to the crime.’’
News
Ondo poll: APC buying votes with N10,000, PDP alleges
Ondo poll: APC buying votes with N10,000, PDP alleges
Dr. Eddy Olafeso, the Director General of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) campaign council for the Ondo state governorship election, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of vote-buying in his unit at N10,000 per voter.
Olafeso, who spoke after voting at his polling unit 005 Olumekun compound, Ward 12, Idepe, Okitipupa Local Government Area, Ondo state, said the election was peaceful in his area.
According to him, ” We have been here around 8am and everything appears in line with the electoral law especially the area i voted but our fears is the APC that has not done anything for the people in the last four years are moulding up the process by paying N10,000 to each voters, we have witnessed it here and we have complained and it appears intractable.
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“For us, no matter the kind of profligacy they are introducing into the electoral process, truth will prevail in the final analysis.
“You know it is a long process and voting is the first stage , we are waiting for it to be uploaded into IREV, we are waiting to take our from E8CA to ensure that everything is appropriately recorded.
“Like I said, the only fear is the vote buying the APC is trying to entrench into the culture of voting in Nigeria.”
Ondo poll: APC buying votes with N10,000, PDP alleges
News
Ondo: INEC new challenge as 1.7 million votes decide next gov today
Ondo: INEC new challenge as 1.7 million votes decide next gov today
Today, 1,757,205 registered voters in Ondo State will head to polling stations across its 18 local government areas to elect a new governor who will steer the affairs of the state for the next four years.
This marks an increase in the number of registered voters compared to the 2020 election, which had 1,647,973 registered voters, of which only 580,887 votes were recorded.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its readiness for the exercise, deploying 4,002 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices across 3,933 polling units, with 812 units on standby in case of technical hitches.
Speaking on the commission’s preparations, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, assured the public that sensitive materials were distributed on Thursday to the Registration Area Centres (RACs) for timely deployment.
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Tinubu calls for peaceful polls
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on stakeholders and voters to uphold peace during and after the election. Through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu emphasised the importance of the election reflecting the people’s will.
“The president reminds all political stakeholders, especially the candidates, that governance is a privilege bestowed by the people. This privilege must be respected, and Nigerians deserve a free and fair election to consolidate our democracy,” the statement read.
Tinubu also commended the security agencies’ preparedness, with the Inspector-General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff, assuring professionalism during the exercise.
Ondo: INEC new challenge as 1.7 million votes decide next gov today
News
Late COAS Lagbaja gets CFR honour, buried amid tributes
Late COAS Lagbaja gets CFR honour, buried amid tributes
The late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, was on Friday laid to rest in Abuja, amid tears and tributes.
President Bola Tinubu conferred a posthumous award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the late Chief of Army Staff.
The burial took place at the National Cemetery in Abuja to end two days of funeral rites that began in Lagos earlier in the week.
His body was lowered into the grave at exactly 4:41pm after the ceremony that lasted over two hours.
Lagbaja’s casket, draped in Nigeria’s green and white colours, arrived at the cemetery around 3pm in a white funeral wagon after a funeral service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja.
Dignitaries were led to the event by President Bola Tinubu. Others are Vice President Kashim Shettima; the Acting Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa; Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, and other top government officials and military brass.
President Tinubu announced the conferment of the CFR on the late COAS during the interment at the National Cemetery in Abuja.
The President extolled the virtues of the late warrior, especially his contributions to national security.
According to him, the appointment of Lagbaja as the COAS was one of his finest made so far.
“As an eternal symbol of our appreciation, I have granted the late Chief of Army Staff, the posthumous national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic of the Niger (CFR),” Tinubu declared.
He thereafter invited the wife of the late COAS, Mariya, to collect the award on behalf of the Lagbaja family amid applause from the congregation.
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