Category: Security and Crimes

By Desmond Ejibas

No fewer than 10 Nigerian Navy warships have returned to base after a military exercise to checkmate criminals in the nation’s waters and the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

The warships are Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Sagbama, NNS Nwamba, NNS Ibeno, NNS Dorina, NNS Gongola, NNS Ikene, NNS Badagry, NNS Oji, NNS Ose and NNS Okpoku.

Addressing newsmen after the warships berthed in Onne, Rivers, the Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command (CNC), Rear Adm. Umar Chugali said the exercise code-named “Exercise Sea Guardian” was a huge success.

He said troops participated in anti-crude oil theft operation, vessel seizure, fleet manoeuvres, man overboard and gunnex.

“Other activities include communications and emergency drills such as firefighting, steering gear breakdown, machinery failure, abandon and man, and cheer ship.

“The exercise was used to exercise and demonstrate the capacity and capability of our ships at sea, to secure Nigeria’s maritime space and the Gulf of Guinea.

“The four-days exercise was used to highlight our readiness in tackling all forms of maritime crimes within Nigeria’s maritime environment and GoG,” he added.

Chugali said aside the warships, two attack helicopters and a detachment of the Navy’s Special Boat Service, equivalent to United States Navy Seals, participated in the exercise.

Rear Adm. Olusola Oluwagbire, Flag Officer Commanding ENC, said the exercise was carried out by troops from both eastern and central naval commands located in Calabar and Yenagoa, respectively.

He said the exercise was part of actionable steps taken by the Nigeria Navy to end crude oil theft, sea robbery and sea piracy, among others, in Nigeria’s waters.

“We are using this exercise to test our capability and readiness to safeguard our waters and the GoG from criminals.

“We are doing our best to present the best foot (personnel) in our deployments – both in terms of personnel and assets,” Oluwagbire said.

On his part, the Commanding Officer, NNS Sagbama, Cdr. Stephen Ebute said the exercise had improved the expertise of troops in onshore and offshore operations.

According to him, it was a platform for the troops, including commanding officers of the various warships, to enhance their training objectives and operational realities.

“This will enable us to expertly tackle emergencies in our ships as well as curtailing the various threats in our maritime domain,” he added.

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By Ibironke Ariyo

NDLEA operatives arrested one Chimamkpa Emenike (38) on Oct. 20 and one Agbo Chidike (41) on Oct. 21 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for ingesting hard drugs.

Emenike was jetting out to France with his ingested heroin while Chidike was on his way to Hong Kong with cocaine in his belly when they were arrested.

Director, Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi stated on Sunday in Abuja that Emenike was arrested at the boarding gate of the airport while attempting to board an Air France flight to Paris.

He added that Chidike was taken into custody on Oct. 21 while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong via Addis Ababa.

“After days in custody, Emenike excreted 72 wraps of heroin weighing 1.171kg, while Chidike discharged 49 pellets of cocaine weighing 998.53gm.

“In his statement, Chidike claimed he is a businessman dealing in spare parts at the Alaba International market in Ojo area of Lagos.

“Chidike was to be paid N3.5 million which he intended to use to import goods from Hong Kong,’’ Babafemi stated.

He added that NDLEA operatives intercepted a Qatar Airways passenger, Agbo Tochukwu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on Wednesday, Oct. 25 while on his way to Oman.

The suspect had 58 parcels of skunk weighing 29.10kg on him while undergoing processes of boarding his flight.

“In his statement, Tochukwu claimed he migrated to Oman on May 6 and had been working as hotel attendant there before venturing into drug trafficking,’’ Babfemi stated.

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By Ibironke Ariyo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it will deploy personnel to 774 Local Government Areas in 2024 to strengthen the war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking especially in local communities.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi on Friday in Abuja.

The NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), said this while responding to request for partnership and deployment of more NDLEA officers in all parts of Katsina by Gov. Dikko Radda.

Marwa stated that the request was based on taming the problem of drug abuse and insecurity in the state.

Marwa said “with the agency’s staff strength expected to rise to 15,000 by the end of the year, the next “development is to deploy in the LGAs.

“We currently have zonal commands, state commands, and area commands. We want to go to the LGAs for the offensive action and the advocacy work.

“We would need more support to succeed. I appreciate the work of the Katsina governor as the challenges are numerous in governing the state.

“But if insecurity is a problem and is fueled by drugs, I believe we have to collectively take it out of the security equation,’’ he said.

Marwa commended Gov. Radda for his efforts to surmount the various challenges faced and enhance the socio-economic development of the state.

He appealed to the Katsina Government to have a state drug control committee of which the NDLEA would be the secretary and the chairperson would be the First Lady of the state.

He said that the first ladies were in the strategic position, because they were the mothers and have the best interest of the government at heart.

Speaking earlier, Gov. Radda said he was at the agency as part of his government’s efforts to solve the problem of insecurity facing the state.

Radda said that it was no longer news that the problem of insecurity had been ongoing for years and insecurity was one of the major issues confronting Katsina state.

According to him, we receive unpleasant news almost on a daily basis on what has been the issues disturbing the state for a long time.

“We have taken some needful steps, we set up a Katsina community watch corps with locals to complement the efforts of the conventional security agencies but that is not enough.

“We decided to reach out to the NDLEA under the leadership of the chairman to combine our efforts and synergise to mitigate the effect of insecurity in the state.

“It was necessary to get to the root of the problem, and the root of the problem is drug abuse by the teeming youths in the state.

“We know that these inhumane acts cannot be committed without the influence of drugs,” he said.

Radda said that he hoped the partnership would go a long way in alleviating the issues of the state and improving the economy.

“Once insecurity is reduced, economic activities will be conducted better,” he said.

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A vigilante was beheaded in Abia State when gunmen attacked a team of security personnel in the Ossioma area of the state.

The spokesperson of the Abia State Police Command Maureen Chinaka confirmed the vigilante’s death in a Friday statement.

 

“Yesterday 26/10/2023 At about 15:50 hrs, Abia State Police officers stationed at Osisioma Police Headquarters received credible information concerning an attack on a group of security personnel in Isiahia village, Umuojima, Osisioma. The attacked team included one policeman, one special constabulary personnel, and three vigilante men,” she said.

 

“Upon arrival, an unregistered Sienna bus and a headless corpse were discovered. Through investigation, the deceased was identified as Obinna Ndukwe, also known as Socket, who was a member of the Abia State vigilante and often collaborated with the police. The body of the deceased has been evacuated and deposited in the mortuary.”

While reiterating that no police officer was killed in the attack, the command is vowing to probe the incident.

 

“We would want to clarify that no police official was killed during the incident. Furthermore, our officers successfully recovered the vehicle used by the hoodlums in the attack and efforts are underway to apprehend the perpetrators,” the police added.

 

“We urge all citizens to remain calm and security-conscious while going about their activities.”

Nigerian Police Force Spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has said it’s embarrassing that some policemen collect N100 or any amount from Nigerians, stating that it’s pure corruption and does not portray the force in a good light.

 

Adejobi made it known while responding to a question from an X user on why some policemen extort road users

.His words: “It’s pure corruption. It’s not allowed or acceptable. It’s condemned in its totality. 100 naira or whatever amount being collected by some policemen (not all of them) on the road is embarrassing and does not portray police in a good light.

In fact, the hatred and bad image of the police are tailored to this and some other isolated misconducts. Those you see on the road collecting dirty money do not represent our standards, values, and vision. It’s a matter of time. They will soon meet their Waterloo.

 

He also stated that the IGP has set up a committee to tackle unprofessionalism in the force.

 

“The IGP detests that and is working assiduously to tackle corruption, misconducts and unprofessionalism in the police. We will soon reveal the outcomes of IGP’s monitoring team’s operations across the country. We have recorded successes in that regard, and it’s a continuous exercise