The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Egwu Phillip Inya, who claims to be a building engineer, while attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.

According to a statement by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, the 42-year-old Egwu was arrested on Monday 2nd December 2024 at Okeyson motor park Enugu when he showed up to collect three units of pressure machines inside which were hidden parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.40 kilograms.

Babafemi stated that the consignments had arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos import shed on 29th November 2024.

“Following credible intelligence, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency had monitored the shipment pass through clearing processes up to a logistics company’s warehouse outside the airport where it was to be collected by the consignee.

“The importer however changed the point of collection to Enugu at the last minute. As a result, NDLEA operatives in a follow up operation in Enugu arrested Egwu when he showed up to collect the consignments.

“No fewer than 511,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Siena vehicle at Hildi, Askira Uba way in Adamawa state by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the road in the early hours of Friday 6th December.

“The occupants of the vehicle had made a detour on sighting the NDLEA team and after a distance abandoned the vehicle with the consignments after noticing the operatives were on their trail,” the statement said.

It also added that in Ekiti State, two suspects, Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Kayode Ijadahun, 55, were arrested along Ise- Emure road in a J5 bus marked EPE 958 XJ while transporting 108 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1, 323 kilograms to Owo, Ondo state from where they claimed the consignment will be moved to the North for distribution.

It further read, “Another suspect, Adekunle Yusuf, 33, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 704 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance, concealed in white sacks on Friday 6th December at Idere road, Igboora, Oyo state.

“In Lagos, a grandmother, 65-year-old Ramata Bola Adeyemo was on Friday 6th December arrested by NDLEA operatives at 62 Odunfa street, Lagos Island, where 20.6 litres of codeine-based syrup were recovered from her. Also arrested in Lagos was Alhaji Lawan Manga who was picked at Ogundana Street, Ikeja on Thursday 5th December while 4.7kg cannabis and 1.3kg tramadol were recovered from him.

“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization lectures to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Progressive Secondary School, Ado Awaye, Oyo state; Muslim Grammar School, Ede, Osun state; Government Girls College, Maiduguri, Borno state; Community Secondary School, Ogale, Rivers state; Santa Maria Secondary School, Igogoro, Enugu state; and Chiranci Upper Basic Junior Secondary School, Bichi, Kano state while Lagos State command of NDLEA organised WADA enlightenment lecture for leaders and members of NURTW, Orile Agege, Lagos, among others.

Commending the officers and men of MMIA, Adamawa, Ekiti, Lagos, and Oyo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.

Ghana’s former president John Dramani Mahama won a historic comeback election victory on Sunday after voters appeared to punish the ruling New Patriotic Party over its management of an economic crisis.

NPP candidate Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia on Sunday conceded defeat in the weekend presidential election after failing to shake off widespread frustration over high costs of living.

Defeat in Saturday’s election ended eight years in power for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by the west African state’s worst economic turmoil in years, high inflation and a debt default.

For Mahama, president from 2012-2017, it was his third attempt to reclaim the nation’s top post after falling short in 2016 and 2020 elections.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a press conference flanked by party officials.


In what was a speedy concession with official vote tallies still coming in, Bawumia said he had called National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Mahama to congratulate him.

Blaring horns, waving flags and cheering, Mahama supporters were already celebrating outside the party campaign headquarters in the capital Accra.

Mahama has yet to speak publicly since Bawumia’s concession.

But on his X account, Mahama confirmed he received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory”.

Ghana’s economic woes dominated the election, after the continent’s top gold producer and world’s No. 2 cacao exporter went through a crisis of default and currency devaluation, ending with a $3 billion IMF bailout.

Earlier, NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama won 56.3 percent of the vote against 41.3 percent for Bawumia.

Political parties had agents at polling stations to observe and tally the initial vote counts before the ballots were sent for official collation by the election commission.

Earlier, Commission Deputy Commissioner Bossman Asare told reporters regional results had yet to arrive at the national centre.

The commission had said official results were likely due by Tuesday.

With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992.

Under the slogan “Break the 8” — a reference to two terms in power — Bawumia had sought to lead the NPP to an unprecedented third term. But he struggled to break away from criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.

Though inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising, economic struggles were still a clear election issue for many.

That frustration opened the way for a comeback challenge from Mahama.

But during campaigning, the former president also faced criticism from those who remember his government’s own financial problems especially the massive power cuts that marked his time in office.

AFP

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has commenced an investigation into what it has termed a serious incident involving a FlyBird HS 125 aircraft, with registration number 5NKAL.

The Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday.

According to her, the aircraft, operating a flight from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to Kotoka International Airport, Accra, experienced technical difficulties during its flight on December 6, 2024.

It was reported that the aircraft lost two engines during the flight and decided to return to Abuja.


Preliminary information indicated that the aircraft, with four persons on board, was climbing through flight level 240 en route to flight level 280 when the crew reported an engine number 2 indication issue.

The aircraft was approximately 25 nautical miles southwest of VOR station VONUK at 17:54 UTC when the crew requested a diversion back to Abuja due to the engine indication.

Findings by the NSIB showed that the aircraft lost engine No. 2 at flight level 230