Category Nigeria News

The Kogi State Government has ordered the temporary closure of selected markets and motor parks across parts of Kogi West Senatorial District to support intensified security operations aimed at flushing out terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements.

The directive was announced in a statement signed on Sunday by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo.

He said the measure is in support of ongoing clearance operations being carried out in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser and heads of security agencies in the state.

According to the government, the closures are designed to cut off logistics, restrict the movement of consumables and deny criminal elements and their informants access to food supplies and other forms of support during the operations.

The temporary shutdown affects selected communities across seven local government areas.

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In Lokoja Local Government Area, the affected locations include Oshokoshoko Market and Motor Park, as well as Jakura, Ogbagbon, Agbaja, Atsawa, Obajana, Apata, Abugi, Amomi, Ebee and Budon.

In Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area, markets and motor parks in Ike Bunu, Aba Marian (Isado), Ofere, Abaa Dola (Ihale Bunu), Aiyede, Oke Offin, Aiyegunle Bunu, Okebukun, Odo Ape Bunu, Agbadu Bunu and Agbede Apa Bunu are covered by the directive.

Communities affected in Yagba West Local Government Area include Okoloke, Isanlu Esa, Okunran, Ogbe, Ejiba, Odo Eri, Igbaruku, Iyamerin, Ogga, Omi, Odo Ara and Oke Ere.

In Yagba East Local Government Area, the closure applies to Irunda Ile, Iyeh Ilotin, Gada, Odogbe and Ilafin.

In Kogi Local Government Area, the affected markets include the Rice Market at Adingere, Koton Karfe, Okpareke and Girinya, as well as the Okro Market at Opanda and the Perishable Market at Edeha.

Markets and motor parks in Otafun Amuro, Oroke Amuro, Takete Ide Amuro, Okeagi, Illai, Ilemo and Ijagbe are affected in Mopamuro Local Government Area.

In Ijumu Local Government Area, the shutdown covers Ayegunle Gbedde, Iyah Gbedde, Ayetoro Gbedde, Ayeh Gbedde, Iluhagba, Odokoro and Okoro markets.

The state government stressed that the measure is strictly temporary and will be lifted immediately after the successful conclusion of the security operations.

The Federal Government will on Monday convene a National Economic Council (NEC) Conference aimed at strengthening economic coordination and accelerating inclusive growth across Nigeria’s 36 states.

The conference, scheduled for February 9 to 10, 2026, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, will be presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who chairs the council.

A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said the meeting would bring together state governors and key national stakeholders to deliberate on critical macroeconomic priorities.

The two-day conference, organised by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, will focus on fiscal coordination, investment mobilisation, and the development of shared strategies between the federal and state governments.

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The theme of the conference is “Delivering Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development: The Renewed Hope National Development Plan.”

It is expected to shape far-reaching policy directions for states as they align with the Federal Government’s long-term economic agenda.

According to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and Secretary of the NEC, Deborah Oko Odo, “the conference will focus on national economic issues aimed at encouraging economic growth and development across the country.”

President Bola Tinubu will attend the event as Special Guest of Honour, alongside senior government officials, development partners and private-sector leaders, as the Federal Government continues to deepen reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The National Economic Council has a constitutional mandate to advise the President on the economic affairs of the federation, particularly on measures required for coordinating the economic planning and programmes of federal and state governments.

Its membership includes the 36 state governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other co-opted officials.

At its 149th meeting in April 2025, the council endorsed the establishment of a Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Board, as well as new strategies for agribusiness expansion and livestock transformation, initiatives projected to generate up to $90 billion in economic value by 2035.

A 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to smuggle cocaine to China.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi.

According to the agency, he was apprehended on Saturday, during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.

A body scan conducted by NDLEA officers confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs, after which he was placed under medical observation.

While under observation, the agency said the suspect expelled a total of 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.589 kilograms, in seven excretions.

NDLEA said he told investigators that he is involved in the clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos and claimed he resorted to drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he is building in his village, Iwollo, Enugu State.

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In separate operations across the country, NDLEA operatives recorded several major interceptions and arrests.

In the Federal Capital Territory, officers recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse within Fums Plaza, Kubwa.

Also, an attempt to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna was foiled on Friday, February 6, when operatives intercepted the consignments in a commercial bus.

A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, the owner of one of the parcels containing 173 grams of methamphetamine, while Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael were arrested on Saturday,  February 7, in Kaduna as they arrived to collect a second consignment weighing 28 grams.

In Taraba State, NDLEA officers at the Dan-Anacha patrol point in Gassol Local Government Area intercepted a 32-year-old suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, on Friday, February 7, while conveying packs of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State.

A search revealed that some of the packs were used to conceal 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine.

In Oyo State, a 29-year-old Beninoise, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, was arrested on Thursday, February 5, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, with 149.6 kilograms of skunk concealed in rice shafts.

In a separate operation in Ibadan, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as Prince, was arrested at Foko, Agbeni Market, on Wednesday, February 4, with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol recovered from his truck.

Also in Ibadan, a suspected drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, was arrested on Saturday, February 7, at the Badeku area, alongside his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27.

Recovered from them were eight litres of precursor chemicals, 14 grams of skunk, drug production paraphernalia, ₦7,408,400 in cash, and two vehicles, a Mercedes-Benz SUV (ABC 832 AZ) and a Toyota Highlander (RBC 243 BS).

In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a fuel tanker conveying petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri on Saturday, February 7, and recovered 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed within the truck. The driver was taken into custody.

Meanwhile, a couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested at Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State, with 203 kilograms of skunk.

In Ondo State, officers recovered 420 kilograms of skunk from a bush at Ikun Akoko on Friday, 6 February.

In Lagos State, operatives of the NDLEA Marine Command seized 31 wraps of cocaine hidden inside a handbag from a suspect, Eze Nodebechi Austin, upon his arrival from Côte d’Ivoire by boat at Yekeme, Badagry, on Friday, February 6.

Another suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested at Lagos Island on Wednesday, 4 February, with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado recovered from him.

No fewer than 184 persons have been arrested by the Plateau State Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce following overnight raids across several locations in Jos and surrounding areas.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Philemon Daffi, who also chairs the Plateau State Taskforce on Anti-Human Trafficking, disclosed this on Saturday while addressing journalists at the Ministry of Justice Secretariat in Jos.

He described the operation as a breakthrough in the state’s fight against human trafficking and child exploitation.

According to Daffi, the intelligence-driven operation was carried out simultaneously at multiple locations late Thursday night and stretched into the early hours of Friday, leading to the arrest of suspected traffickers and the rescue of vulnerable persons held in exploitative conditions.

He said those arrested comprise three pregnant women, seven female minors, 41 female adults, nine male minors and 123 male adults, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to 184.

All suspects, he added, are currently undergoing profiling, after which those found culpable will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

“Last night and towards the early hours of today, the Plateau State Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce executed a surgical, multi-location raid that resulted in strategic arrests and the rescue of numerous vulnerable citizens who had been trapped in the shadows of societal decay,” Daffi said.

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He said the operation’s success came after months of review, training, and data-driven intelligence, with lessons from past operations closing loopholes used by traffickers.

“We are no longer just reacting. We are out-thinking and out-manoeuvring the syndicates that believed Plateau State was a safe harbour for their depravity,” he stated.

Daffi condemned child prostitution in strong terms, describing it as outright human trafficking and a gross violation of the Child’s Rights Law.

He stressed that the state would no longer treat such cases as social misdemeanours or acts of vagrancy.

“Let there be no ambiguity: child prostitution is slavery. Where a minor is involved, there is no consent. It is exploitation, coercion and a heinous crime against humanity,” he said.

He also warned adults who patronise minors, describing them as predators who sustain the demand for exploitation, and vowed that offenders would face the full weight of the law without the option of fines or lenient penalties.

As part of tougher enforcement measures, the Attorney-General announced the immediate implementation of a ‘seal, seize and demolish’ policy against properties and establishments linked to human trafficking and child exploitation.

He said any facility found harbouring minors for profit would be sealed, its assets forfeited to the state, and structures dedicated to such crimes demolished where necessary.

“We are sanitising Plateau State to ensure that only legitimate and lawful businesses thrive. There is no room in the ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’ for those who profit from the destruction of our children,” he said.

The Taskforce also raised concerns about family complicity and parental negligence, warning that relatives who traffic their own children would be prosecuted.

Daffi added that parents who abandon their duty of care and expose their wards to traffickers would also be held criminally liable.

“Poverty is not an excuse for selling your child or ward into bondage. If you will not protect your children, the State will, and we will hold you accountable for that failure,” he warned.

He reaffirmed Plateau State’s commitment to the crackdown, noting the Taskforce is boosting capacity with training, better infrastructure, and victim rehabilitation.

Sending a message to traffickers and their collaborators, Daffi said the latest operation signalled the end of impunity in the state.

Iran will never surrender the right to enrich uranium, even if war “is imposed on us”, its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Sunday, defying pressure from Washington.

“Iran has paid a very heavy price for its peaceful nuclear programme and for uranium enrichment,” Abbas Araghchi told a forum in Tehran.

“Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour,” he said, two days after he met US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman.

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Araghchi also said he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran’s red lines and warning against any American attack.

According to excerpts published on his official Telegram channel during an interview with the Al Jazeera network, Araghchi said that Iran’s missile programme was “never negotiable” in Friday’s talks in Oman.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to raise the ballistic missiles programme in a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington next week.

Araghchi, meanwhile, warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory.

It came as lead Iran negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, signalling the persistent threat of US military action.

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said the two top officials visited the nuclear-powered vessel in a post on social media.

In his own social media post, Witkoff said the aircraft carrier and its strike group were “keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength”.

– ‘Good start’ –

Araghchi on Saturday said that despite the talks in Muscat being indirect, “an opportunity arose to shake hands with the American delegation”.

He called the talks “a good start”, but insisted “there is a long way to go to build trust”. He said the talks would resume “soon”.

Trump on Friday called the talks “very good”, and pledged another round of negotiations next week.

Despite this, he signed an executive order effective from Saturday that called for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries still doing business with Iran.

The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.

More than a quarter of Iran’s trade is with China, with $18 billion in imports and $14.5 billion in exports in 2024, according to World Trade Organization data.

– ‘Defence issue’ –

Araghchi told Al Jazeera that nuclear enrichment was Iran’s “inalienable right and must continue”.

“We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment,” he said.

“The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations.”

He also said Iran’s missile programme was “never negotiable” because it relates to a “defence issue”.

Washington has sought to address Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for militant groups in the region — issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks, according to media reports.

Tehran has repeatedly rejected expanding the scope of the negotiations beyond the nuclear issue.

Netanyahu is set to meet Trump on Wednesday to discuss the Iran talks, the premier’s office said in a statement Saturday.

Netanyahu “believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis”, it said, referring to Iran’s allies in the region.

On Saturday, Araghchi criticised what he labelled a “doctrine of domination” that allows Israel to expand its military arsenal while pressuring other states in the region to disarm.

Friday’s negotiations were the first since nuclear talks between Iran and the United States collapsed last year following Israel’s unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, which triggered a 12-day war.

During the war US warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear sites.

Araghchi told Al Jazeera that if attacked again, “we will attack their bases in the region”, referring to the United States.

– Protests toll –

Friday’s talks between the two arch enemies came amid a major US military buildup in the region in the wake of Iran’s crackdown on protests that began in late December, driven by economic grievances.

The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the recent protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.

International organisations have put the toll far higher.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested 23 male suspects in connection with criminal activities and recovered large quantities of suspected illicit drugs during a raid of black spots at the Ibaka Fishing Port.

The operation, carried out by operatives of the Command, followed actionable intelligence and targeted suspected criminal hideouts within the Ibaka axis.

According to a press statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Timfon John, the raid was conducted between 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, 5 February 2025, and 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, 6 February 2025.

“Between 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, 5th February 2025, and 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, 6th February 2025, operatives of the Command, acting on credible information, carried out a strategic night operation targeting criminal hideouts within the Ibaka axis,” the statement read.

The force spokesperson disclosed that several identified black spots within the Ibaka Fishing Port were searched during the operation, leading to the arrest of “Sampson Newstyle, Godgift Benabinte, Michael Asukwo, Prince Ene, Goodnews Asukwo, Golden Edu, and 17 other suspects.”

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Items recovered from the suspects include “large commercial quantities of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, chemically enhanced variants of the same substance, illicit locally brewed drinks, as well as containers and devices used for inhaling hard drugs.”

The Police spokesperson noted that investigations are ongoing to determine the extent of the suspects’ involvement in criminal activities and to identify other individuals connected to the drug network operating in the area.

“Investigation is ongoing to determine the extent of the suspects’ involvement in criminal activities and to identify other individuals connected to the drug network operating within the area,” DSP John said.

He added that the Ibaka axis remains calm, with enhanced patrols and surveillance deployed to forestall any resurgence of criminal activity.