NIGERIA NEWS
Court detains 21 crew members, vessel over cocaine shipment from Brazil
We remain resolute to frustrate drug syndicates, says Marwa
A federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the detention of a merchant vessel, MV San Anthonio, from Brazil, a ship, its captain and 20 other crew members.
This followed the seizure of 25.5 kilogrammes of cocaine in the hatch of the commodity vessel from Brazil at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Operatives of the NDLEA, acting on credible intelligence, had on December 6, 2025, discovered the cocaine consignment aboard the ship.
After the full discharge of the cargo from the ship, a total of 21 crew members of diverse nationalities, including Russia, Phillipines, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, were taken into NDLEA custody along with the drug exhibits.
This is coming on the heels of a similar interception by NDLEA officers of another commodity laden vessel- MV Nord Bosporus, from the port of Santos in Brazil with no less than 20 kilogrammes of the Class A drug buried under its cargo on November 16, at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
Suspects taken into custody along with the latest seized cocaine consignment include the Master of the vessel, Trofymov Oleksandr, and other crew members.
They are Stoychev Sergiy, Bobrov Maksim, Stupnytsky Sergiy, Bitinev Aleksei, Novruzov Teymur, Sosnov Oleg, Bondar Ihor, Klymenko Oleh, Cala Michael De Jesus, Jamir Julfikhar Jacusalem, Blanco Crus Veloso, Fajardo Ronnel Luntaao, Gumela Lolito Jr. Serojano, Toston Romulo Jr. Oling, Smirnov Viacheslav, Gorre Mar Kemmeth Tabudlong, Cruz John Vhoie Glavez, Sablan Jamille Alorro, Abesia Kelvin Belarmino, and Ubay Kenneth Biaoco.
In line with international legal protocols, the NDLEA on Friday, December 12, 2025, filed an ex-parte application in suit FHC/L/MISC/1408/2025 before Justice Frida Nkemakonam Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Lagos, for the detention of the ship and the 21 crew members pending when charges will be filed against them.
Ruling on the application, the judge said: “An order of the court is hereby made extending the detention of the Vessel MV San Antonio that is being investigated by the applicant, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), for 14 days in the first instance, following the seizure of 25.5 kilogrammes of cocaine aboard the said vessel on December 6, 2025, at Apapa seaport, Lagos, pending the conclusion of investigation and or filing of criminal charge and prosecution.”
The court thereafter adjourned the matter to December 29, 2025.
In his reaction to the development, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), said the latest seizure reinforces his earlier warning to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that they would never get a foothold in Nigeria.
Marwa, while commending the officers of the Apapa Strategic Command of the agency for the back-to-back successful operations, said: “This is no doubt a testament to NDLEA’s heightened capacity and unwavering resolve to frustrate the drug syndicates targeting the West African sub-region, especially Nigeria.”
He said the agency would continue to collaborate with local and international partners to ensure zero tolerance for substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
Three loyalists of Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and a member of the Labour Party, on Thursday, announced their defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing the prolonged crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The members who defected from the PDP to the APC are Boniface Emerengwa, Boma Goodhead, and Awaji Nombet Abiante from the PDP and Manuchin Umezuruike from the Labour Party to the APC.
The letters of defection of the four lawmakers were read at plenary on Thursday by the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen.
Abiante and the other two members, who are close associates of Rivers state Governor, said they were leaving the PDP to join the APC as a result of the protracted and unresolved crisis in the PDP.
Umezuruike, on his part, said he was leaving the Labour Party due to the lingering litigations, adding that it is not as a result of personal interest, but the interest of his people.
This will bring the number of members on the APC platform to about 250
French lawmakers on Thursday unanimously approved a bill exonerating women punished for abortion before it was legalised in 1975, a moved praised by feminist groups as a stand for reproductive rights.
A unanimous vote in parliament’s lower house, the National Assembly, finalised the adoption of a proposal that was accepted by the Senate in March and backed by the government.
Its text recognises that enforcement of previous laws “criminalising the use of, practice of, access to, and information about abortion” constituted “an infringement of the protection of women’s health, of sexual and reproductive autonomy”, as well as “of women’s rights”.
The pre-1975 laws led to “numerous deaths” and caused “physical and moral suffering”, it adds.
This “is an act of justice toward those thousands of lives shattered by unjust laws”, said Aurore Berge, the minister-delegate for gender equality, during a speech in which she spoke of an abortion her mother had.
“We have a responsibility to make amends, but above all we have a duty to sound the alarm,” she added, highlighting attacks on women’s rights “all around the world”.
Between 1870 and 1975, more than 11,660 people were convicted for performing or seeking an abortion, according to official estimates.
The law does not provide for reparations but stipulates the creation of a commission tasked with helping collect and share memories of women forced into secret abortions and of those who helped them.
On Thursday, lawmakers welcomed the presence in the gallery of Claudine Monteil, one of 343 women who in 1971 signed an open letter saying that they had had abortions and calling for legalisation.
France decriminalised the voluntary termination of a pregnancy with the 1975 Veil Law, named after women’s rights champion and health minister Simone Veil, who championed legalising abortion.
Last year it became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to terminate a pregnancy in its constitution.
Abortion remains a hot-button political issue in many countries, with some including the United States rolling back reproductive rights in recent years.
“France is sending a clear message, at home and abroad: no one should ever be convicted for having an abortion,” the Women’s Foundation, a feminist group, said in a statement.
The European Parliament adopted a text this week urging the European Union to facilitate access to “safe” abortions for all women on the continent, where access varies markedly from one country to another.
The post France exonerates women convicted over abortions before legalisation appeared first on Vanguard News.
From Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos (18/12/25)
The death toll of 12 people who were killed in the Foron community of the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State on Tuesday night has risen to 14.
They were attacked by people suspected to be Fulani terrorists, with 12 cruelly murdered and five others seriously injured.
Confirming the latest two casualties to The Guardian on Thursday, Mr Dung Pam said that he had just come from the hospital, where two of those admitted were confirmed dead by the physicians.
Meanwhile, Senator Pam Mwadkon Dachungyang, representing Jos North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has decried the attack on the villagers, where more than ten people lost their lives, and several others were injured.
He noted, “I cannot understand why people who are going about their normal business will be surrounded and shot at sporadically using what eyewitnesses described as sophisticated weapons.
“From all indications, the herders that have been terrorising our land are still around us and armed with the intent of destabilising our people and creating an atmosphere of fear among the populations.
“I honestly do not understand how the peaceful and accommodating disposition of our people has become a problem. We accept everybody in the spirit of live and let’s live, so when has that become a problem in recent times?”
Dachungyang, therefore, called on the intelligence and security agencies to not only arrest the perpetrators but ensure that they pay in full for the havoc they have visited on affected families, communities, and the state as a whole.
He emphasised that he is ever ready to assist in any way possible to ensure that the violence visited on the people of the zone is brought to a halt without any further delays.
He also used the opportunity to condole with the affected families while praying to God to grant the injured a speedy recovery.
On its part, the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM) has also received with deep shock, grief, and indignation the brutal attack, best described as “genocide and mass atrocity”, on Atoso village in Fan District of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, which occurred on Tuesday night at about 9:00 pm at a mining site by a terrorist group known as Fulani militants.
“The tragic incident claimed the lives of twelve (12) innocent persons, with three (3) others abducted and taken alive, while five (5) are currently hospitalised with varying degrees of injuries. This horrifying act has plunged the entire Atoso community and the Berom nation into mourning,” BYM added.
The President of the BYM, Barrister Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, who personally visited the scene of the incident alongside members of the association’s leadership, described the scene as a “heartbreaking incident” that followed the gruesome murder of four children at Dorong village of Foron District in the same Local Government Area, “where a rain of terror has continued to render humanity of the Berom ethnic nationality and other Nigerians a ‘soft target’ at the mercy of the attackers. This is therefore condemned in the strongest terms.”
The BYM expressed profound sympathy to the bereaved families and noted that the repeated killing of innocent citizens in their ancestral land is unacceptable and must not be allowed to continue despite the early warning alerts and signals always sent to the authorities concerned.
… seeks more federal presence
Ogbia Kingdom in Bayelsa and Rivers states on Wednesday formally pledged support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead forthcoming general elections.
They premised their support on tangible presence in the Niger Delta region and his inclusive governance.
On the delegation which met President Tinubu at the State House were Obanobhan Ogbia 111, His Royal Majesty Dumaro Charles Owaba; Obanobhan Emeyal, His Royal Majesty Wapabiama Amakiri and Olalebhu Abureni, His Royal Majesty, Collins Daniel.
Also on the entourage was the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku.
2027: Tinubu will win massively in South-East, Ikonne replies Abaribe
King Collins Daniel, who spoke on behalf of others pledged the unalloyed support of its people for the success of the President’s efforts at building a greater Nigeria, lauding him for his commitment to inclusive development.
“In light of the above, it is our firm belief that Mr President has done us well and as such we cannot help but to reciprocate your kind gesture by inviting Mr President to contest the next Presidential election.
“You have the full support of the Ogbia Kingdom. Mr President, we are behind you”, King Daniel said.
Also speaking, the MD of the NDDC said the delegation had come to express appreciation for President Tinubu’s leadership style and the confidence he had reposed in sons and daughters of Ogbia through key national appointments, which it said had rekindled hope and reinforced faith in his administration.
“We have come first and foremost to express our heartfelt appreciation for your inclusive leadership and the confidence you have reposed in our sons and daughters through their recent appointments and re-appointments into key national positions,” he said.
The Ogbia leaders singled out the performance of the NDDC under Dr Ogbuku, noting that since his appointment on August 29, 2023, communities across Ogbia Kingdom and the wider Niger Delta had witnessed “unprecedented infrastructural and human capital development.”
“Suffice it to say that virtually every community in Ogbia Kingdom and in the Niger Delta now enjoy solar lights at night, which has significantly illuminated the Niger Delta and boosted economic activities,” the delegation said, adding that the interventions had “to a large extent curbed insecurity in the Kingdom and the entire region.”
They listed road construction, ecological projects, upgraded health facilities and youth empowerment programmes such as Project HOPE in technology, agriculture, arts and green energy as part of the NDDC’s achievements, describing President Tinubu’s choice of Dr Ogbuku as “not misplaced.”
“Your appointment of Dr Samuel Ogbuku sends a clear message of your confidence in indigenous leadership and reinforces the trust of the Niger Delta people in your Renewed Hope Agenda.”
The delegation concluded by assuring President Tinubu of its “unalloyed loyalty and support,” inviting him to visit Ogbia Kingdom and praying for wisdom and strength as he leads the country.
“May God Almighty continue to grant you wisdom, strength and good health as you steer the affairs of our great nation,” the delegation said.
Responding, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured the delegation that his administration would work closely with Niger Delta indigenes serving in government, particularly the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, to deepen development efforts in the region.
“We cannot excuse the neglect of the past, but living in the past will do us no good, except take it and run with it now, carefully,” Tinubu said.
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has clinched four awards at the 19th Annual SERVICOM Awards, highlighting its dedication to citizen-centred service delivery.
At the Abuja ceremony, NSITF’s Managing Director/CEO, Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye, received the 2025 SERVICOM Award for Support and Commitment to Citizen-Centred Service Delivery.
The award recognised his pragmatic leadership, which has enhanced the Fund’s service excellence.
The Fund also won the SERVICOM Special Recognition Award (“Servicomworkshere”) for positively impacting lives through quality service. Additionally, Mrs. Gertrude Biosah, Head of the Fund’s SERVICOM Department, was named Second Best Performing Nodal Officer (Parastatal), while the NSITF Parastatal SERVICOM Unit (PSU) Team C received the Second Best Performing Parastatal SERVICOM Unit award.
The awards, presented by Mr. Anthony Olugbenga Oshun, Acting National Coordinator and CEO of SERVICOM, aim to foster service excellence, accountability, and best practices across government agencies.
The ceremony drew representatives from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service, and 29 other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
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The Federal Government has officially reopened all 47 previously closed Federal Unity Colleges nationwide, emphasizing its commitment to student safety and the uninterrupted delivery of quality education.
The reopening follows the strengthening of security measures within and around the affected schools, allowing academic activities to fully resume.
In a statement signed by Mrs. Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, the ministry confirmed that students have safely returned to their campuses. Many have completed their December academic programmes, while others have concluded their examinations.
“The safety, welfare, and well-being of students remain our highest priority,” the statement read, assuring parents, guardians, and the public that the government continues to collaborate with relevant security agencies to maintain stability in school environments across the country.
The ministry reiterated the government’s resolve to protect every Nigerian child and uphold their fundamental right to education in a safe and secure environment, highlighting that education remains a key pillar of national growth and development.
According to the statement, the safe return of students and the successful conduct of examinations in several Unity Colleges demonstrate the government’s determination to prevent disruptions to the academic calendar despite prevailing security challenges.
The ministry also expressed appreciation to parents, school administrators, and students for their cooperation and patience, reaffirming its commitment to sustaining a secure, stable, and uninterrupted education system nationwide.
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NIGERIA NEWS
Ebonyi Police ACP Ogbon-Inu Popoola Slumps, Dies During Management Meeting — Akelicious
Ebonyi State Police Command Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Ogbon-Inu Taiwo Popoola, has reportedly died after he slumped during a management meeting at the office of the Commissioner of Police on Tuesday.
He was immediately rushed to the Police Medical Centre at the command’s Headquarters in Abakaliki. Despite all efforts, however, he was confirmed dead by doctors.
Preliminary medical findings indicated that the cause of death was cardiac arrest, secondary to hypertensive heart disease.
The Command’s spokesperson, Joshua Ukandu, confirmed the death on Thursday.
He said, “He had a crisis during a meeting and was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive. He was not sick before the incident. If he were sick, he wouldn’t have attended the meeting”
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The Kwara State Police Command has arrested three suspected kidnappers and recovered 54 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition during a security operation in the state.
The development was contained in a post shared on X on Thursday by security analyst, Zagazola Makama.
According to Makama, the arrests followed an intelligence-led patrol carried out by local vigilantes in the Bani area of Kwara State at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Makama disclosed that vigilante operatives, led by their commander in Bani, Taiye Abubakar, were on routine patrol when they spotted two men riding a Bajaj motorcycle and attempted to stop them.
“One of the suspects reportedly fled, while the other was arrested on the spot,” Makama wrote.
A search conducted on the arrested suspect led to the recovery of 54 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition in his possession.
The suspects were identified as Gero Mahamadu and Lawale Falike, both from communities around the Bani and Jebba axis.
During interrogation, the arrested suspect allegedly confessed that the ammunition was supplied by two other individuals and was meant to be delivered to another accomplice for a planned kidnapping operation.
Following the confession, security operatives arrested another suspect linked to the case, while efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining suspects who are currently on the run.
NIGERIA NEWS
Drama Erupts As Event Planner Blocks Bride From Attending Wedding Over Outstanding Payment
- Chaos occurred at a wedding venue when an event planner stopped a bride from leaving for her church ceremony.
- The incident was captured in a viral video shared on X by user @Teniola.
- The bride was dressed and seated in a car, ready to depart when the planner intervened.
Chaos erupted at a wedding venue when an event planner allegedly prevented a bride from leaving for her church ceremony due to unpaid service fees.
A viral video posted on X by user @Teniola showed the bride already dressed in her wedding attire and seated inside a car, ready to depart for the church. However, the event planner blocked her from leaving, insisting that all outstanding payments had to be cleared before she could proceed.
Guests at the venue were heard appealing to the planner, asking her to allow the bride attend the church service first and return later to settle the balance.
“Please let her go to the church and come back to pay. Allow her,” some attendees pleaded.
Despite the appeals, the event planner refused to relent, stressing that her services had not been fully paid for.
“She’s not going anywhere. My canopy, tent, decorations and wedding outfits are here — she is not leaving,” she reportedly said.
The standoff created confusion and tension at the venue, with guests split over the issue and debates breaking out over who was at fault.
The incident has also triggered varied reactions on social media. While some users questioned why services were rendered without full payment, others criticised the situation entirely, with one commenter saying, “Is marriage by force? This is shameful.”
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Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has assured public servants in the state that his administration will no longer allow delays in the payment of benefits owed to workers who have completed their service.
The governor gave the assurance while overseeing the disbursement of severance gratuities, accommodation, and leave allowances to 1,371 former local government councillors who served between 2021 and 2024.
The event, held on Wednesday at the Coronation Hall of the Government House in Kano, marked the payment of the final batch of outstanding entitlements, which amounted to N8.26 billion.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Yusuf said workers who devoted years of service to the state should not be made to suffer after leaving office.
“Our administration will no longer tolerate situations where public servants are kept waiting endlessly for benefits they are legally entitled to,” the governor said.
He explained that the payment was part of deliberate efforts by his government to clear inherited liabilities and restore confidence in the public service.
Governor Yusuf added that reforms have been introduced within the system to stop the accumulation of arrears and ensure that benefits are processed and paid on time.
“We are putting structures in place to ensure transparency, accountability, and proper management of workers’ entitlements,” he said.
The governor also restated his commitment to people-centred governance.
The statement noted that Kano belongs to everyone and must be managed with fairness and responsibility.