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The Saudi Hajj Security Forces are at the highest level of readiness and prepared to deal with any threats that could prevent 2025 pilgrims from safely performing their rituals.

Lieutenant-General Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, the director of public security and head of the Hajj security committee, made the remarks during a military parade in Makkah on Saturday, the 4th of Dhul Hijjah, where members of the Forces showed their readiness to ensure a hitch-free 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi minister of interior and the head of the Supreme Hajj Committee, took the stage of the annual Hajj readiness event parade, which included a display of military exercises, maneuvers, weapons, and equipment.

As pilgrims prepare for the upcoming holy ritual in batches, the forces, dressed in military uniforms, showed their readiness to ensure a safe and peaceful 2025 Hajj exercise while dressed up in military uniforms and motivated by the importance of their mission.

For the annual Hajj military readiness parade in Makkah, they gathered in large numbers to demonstrate their ability to carry out the comprehensive security plan for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.

READ ALSO: The Hajj Pilgrimage Will Begin On June 4th,

Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the head of the Saudi Ministry of Interior and the head of the Supreme Hajj Committee, inspects the forces’ readiness alongside other royalty and senior officials.

They marched in a precise order, demonstrating discipline and coordination, while keeping in mind the task of protecting pilgrims.

They also carried out challenging drills and maneuvers, which showed both their technical expertise and physical fitness.

The display highlights their operational prowess, ranging from live-fire demonstrations that simulate strategies used by armed attackers to firefighting drills and flypasts.

The security forces, weapons, equipment, and vehicles paraded one after the other in a powerful show of strength.

As well as being prepared to play their parts, the teams included meds, firefighters, emergency responders, cybersecurity teams, and other professionals.

The Saudi government’s largest military display is held annually in the week leading up to the Hajj pilgrimage.

The leadership has mobilized all means of communication to support the pilgrims, according to Lieutenant-General Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, the director of public security, noting that the forces are at the highest level of readiness and fully capable of addressing any threats to the pilgrims’ safety and security.

This readiness exercise by the Hajj Security Forces is crucial because the government’s top priority is the safety of the pilgrims as millions of pilgrims from all over the world descend on the holy place for the 2025 Hajj.

A commercial motorcyclist was killed in a road accident in Lagos’ Ikorodu axis, according to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

The victim, according to the report, lost control of his motorcycle after veering off into a fully loaded articulated truck carrying flour along the Sabo Onimalu corridor inward Itamaga on Sunday morning.

A commercial motorcyclist was involved in the gruesome incident when she allegedly collided with a fully loaded articulated truck carrying flour while traveling at uncontrollably high speed.

The motorcyclist was unable to regain vehicular control after a preliminary investigation conducted right away on-site, suggesting that he had a fatal and unexpected brake malfunction that rendered him unable to regain control. He forcefully struck the moving trailer’s rear, leading to his immediate fatality, according to a statement from LASTMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq.

READ MORE: 22 Kano athletes die in a road accident after a sports festival

Taofiq added that after receiving phone calls from his other motorcyclists, the deceased motorcyclist’s remains were discovered trapped beneath the truck. Taofiq’s family then went to the accident scene and arranged for him to receive them.

He claimed that LASTMA officers, who were the first emergency responders, managed the chaos and secured the accident site quickly and decisively.

Truck driver taken into custody

He made it known that the articulated vehicle’s driver had fled the location in an effort to avoid being held accountable during the intervention.

He did point out that the driver was later detained by LASTMA agents and later turned over to the Ikorodu-based Nigeria Police Force, Shagamu Road Division, for investigation and potential prosecution under the relevant traffic and criminal laws.

Olalekan Bakare-Oki, the general manager of LASTMA, expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and called on the state’s leaders to launch more awareness campaigns among their members to promote safety on the roads.

He also reaffirmed the Lagos State Government’s policy, which forbids commercial motorcycles from traveling along certain corridors, highways, and bridges, and calls for strict conformity in the interests of public safety and order.

Operators of commercial motorcycles must now be held accountable by conducting routine mechanical checks on their vehicles, particularly those that involve crucial components like brakes.

The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN)’s Supreme Court and National Judicial Council (NJC) chapters have made an announcement to stop the union’s planned industrial action.

JUSUN’s national headquarters ordered its members to stop using their tools beginning at midnight on Sunday, as part of the strike action that was scheduled for Friday.

The union claimed that the industrial action was necessary after meetings with the Minister of Labor and Employment about the workers’ demands turned out to be insufficient.

The statement, titled “Strike Circular,” was signed by its General Secretary, M. J. Akwashiki, and stated the demands that included the payment of a five-month wage award, the implementation of the $700,000 national minimum wage, and the 25/35 percent salary increase.

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However, the Supreme Court chapter argued against the short notice and decisions made by the chapters at the lower courts in a statement from its chairman, Danladi Nda Y., dated May 31, 2025.

The Supreme Court’s leadership, led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the country’s supreme court’s chief justice, had been making efforts to improve the conditions of the workers there.

The statement read, “We cannot manage the Supreme Court because of the short notice and decisions made by our colleagues in (lower) sister courts.” Furthermore, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun’s (CJN) efforts and struggles in this regard must lead to the desired outcome rather than be in vain.

Our chapter is arguing nonstop with all federal court chapters to remind us of His Lordship the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s tireless efforts and commitment.

In a similar vein, the NJC chapter stated that it was working to “resolve all pending issues” in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Joel Ebiloma.

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Additionally, it stated that it would give the Minister and other important parties until after the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation’s problems are resolved.

In light of the information above, we want to make it clear that the NJC JUSUN will send a Monday morning appointment to all staff members.

Two pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia have been apprehended at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano after being discovered to have ingested illegal substances.

The suspects were later placed under excretion observation, according to the NDLEA, who then removed 45 wraps of cocaine from both them, totaling 90 pellets and weighing in excess of 1.04 kilograms.

According to credible information, the intentioning pilgrims were interrogated at the NDLEA final screening point at the Kano airport. The results were confirmed when illicit substances were ingested when they were being scanned.

According to the NDLEA’s spokesman Femi Babafemi, who issued a statement on Sunday, “They were later placed on excretion observation during which they excreted 45 wraps of cocaine each,” bringing the total for both to 90 pellets with a total weight of 1.04 kg.

The organization claimed to have seized the cartel’s leaders in Kano and uncovered and dismantled a syndicate that supports hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers for cocaine traveling to Saudi Arabia during pilgrimage.

Babafemi stated, “As soon as their sponsors emerged, they were the leaders of a well-known drug trafficking network with a focus on the flow of illicit drugs to Saudi Arabia. The trio of Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were detained in Kano on May 27 and 28th, 2025, in a quick follow-up operation.

“In a related development, NDLEA agents at the Kano airport on Wednesday, May 28 intercepted a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, while Qatar Airways flight QR1432 was being cleared for Iran. His body scan revealed that he had consumed illicit substances, leading to the excretion observation process, during which he found 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41 kg.

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No fewer than seven watch-listed containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs Service personnel, and other security personnel at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, between Wednesday, May 28 and Friday, May 30.

A total of 5, 100, 000 pills of opioids, including tapentadol 225mg worth 3, 570, 000, were recovered during the operation, according to the NDLEA spokesman. 825, 200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol worth 5.7 billion in street value were seized.

On May 30th, NDLEA agents on patrol along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on Friday, May 30, intercepted the duo of Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53, with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit money. The suspects and the exhibit will be moved to the appropriate agency for further investigation.

A renowned female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was detained on Saturday, May 27 in the Oja Oba area of Ilorin after 390 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 275.300 kg were found in a parked Toyota Siena vehicle marked YLA-408GG along the Ngurore – Yola Road, Adamawa state, where she was the subject of NDLEA operatives’ arrest on

See the following statement in its entirety:

NDLEA arrests three kingpins in Kano, arrests syndicate sponsoring pilgrims with cocaine for the holy month of Hajj, and arrests three NDLEA members.

. businessman intercepts N9.3 billion worth of opioids in rivers after abusing two pilgrims who are Saudi-bound there, and businessman who is visiting Iran to eat 155 cocaine wraps.

A syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers for cocaine transported to Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage has been discovered and dismantled by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operations. Following the arrests of the cartel’s leaders in Kano, this happened.

Following the arrest of two pilgrims on Monday, May 26th, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, on the day of the flight’s departure clearance, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 reached Jedda, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, the kingpins Abdullah Muhammad, Abdulhakeeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were detained at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Based on reliable information, the pilgrims’ interdiction at the NDLEA final screening point at the Kano airport was performed. The results were confirmed when illicit substances were ingested when they were being scanned. After being subjected to excretion observation, they removed 45 wraps of cocaine, totaling 90 pellets and weighing in at 1.04 kg.

Their sponsors, who were known as the leaders of a well-known drug trafficking network that specializes in the flow of illicit drugs to Saudi Arabia, were soon identified by the investigation. The trio of Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were quickly detained in Kano on May 27 and 28. May 2025.

In a related development, NDLEA agents at the Kano airport intercepted businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, 60, on Wednesday, May, during Qatar Airways’ flight QR1432’s departure from Iran. His body scan revealed that he had consumed illicit substances, leading to the excretion observation during which he found 65 wraps of cocaine, which weighed 1.41 kg.

No fewer than seven watch-listed containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, Custom Service personnel, and other security agencies between Wednesday, February 28 and Friday, May 30, where a total of Five Million One Hundred Thousand (5, 100 000) pills of opioids, especially tapentadol, 225mg worth Three Billion Five Hundred and Seventy Million Naira Only (N3, 570, 000) were found. The combined street value of the opioids is nine billion three hundred and forty-six million four hundred and fifty thousand dollars only (N9, 346, 400, 000).

On Friday, on May 30, NDLEA agents on patrol along the Kano-Maiduguri road intercepted the duo of Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53, who are suspected of having stolen $900,000 in cash from NDLEA. The suspects and the exhibit will be moved to the appropriate agency for further investigation.

On Tuesday, May 27, a renowned female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was found a parked Toyota Siena vehicle along Ngurore – Yola Road, Adamawa state, where a total of 390 compressed blocks of skunk and a strain of cannabis weighing 275.300 kg were found. On Saturday, May 31, NDLEA agents in Kwara, Ilorin, detained her at Oja Oba, where various amounts

Over the past week, NDLEA Commands across the nation engaged in similar social advocacy activities as WADA and WADA. Among them are a WADA sensitization lecture that was delivered to students and staff at the Government Day Senior Secondary School in Kwasarawa, Katsina, Corpus Christi College in Achi, Enugu, Epignosis Standard College in Onitsha, Anambra, Utai, Wudil LGA, Kano, and Government Girls Secondary School in Calabar, Cross River, among others.

While praising the agency’s officers and men for the arrests and seizures that occurred last week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised their country’s counterparts for striking a balance between their efforts to reduce drug supply and drug demand.

Dikko Radda, the governor of Katsina State, is grieving over the flood that ravaged Mokwa and the surrounding Niger State.

At least 151 people died as a result of the flood, many of whom were internally displaced, and many of the flood’s critical infrastructure, including roads and bridges, was destroyed.

In a statement released on Sunday by Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, Radda’s chief press secretary, made condolences to the governor of Niger State and the flood victims’ families.

We all grieve terribly as a result of the Mokwa flood disaster. Governor Radda expressed his thoughts and prayers for everyone who has been affected by this unfortunate incident.

Natural disasters serve as reminders of our shared vulnerability and the value of uniting in times of crisis, according to the governor.

In this challenging time, Katsina expressed her full sympathies to her Niger State brothers and sisters.

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The governor stressed the need for strengthened disaster preparedness measures and flood management systems in northern Nigeria, particularly as the rainy season gets longer.

Radda prays fervently for the departed’s souls, asking Almighty Allah to forgive them for their errors and grant them the oath of honor. The governor also prayed for the families of the bereaved to cope with their unimaginable losses in Allah’s divine comfort and strength.

The governor’s statement read, “I pray for Allah’s protection over all Nigerian communities against upcoming natural disasters and calamities.”

See the following statement in its entirety:

Governor Radda Condoles Families, the Government Over Painful Loss in The Governor’s NIGER FLOOD DISASTER

Following the devastating flood disaster that affected Mokwa, Katsina State Governor Malam Dikko Umaru Radda expresses deep sorrow and condolences to the government and the people of Niger State.

The flooding incident, which was brought on by heavy rain that submerged the commercial hub, is described by Governor Radda as a tragic natural disaster that has caused the communities affected by immense pain and suffering.

We all grieve terribly as a result of the Mokwa flood disaster. Governor Radda expressed his thoughts and prayers for everyone who has been affected by this unfortunate incident.

Natural disasters serve as reminders of our shared vulnerability and the value of uniting in times of crisis, according to the Governor. In this challenging time, Katsina State extends her heartfelt condolences to her Niger State brothers and sisters.

Governor Radda expresses his sincere sympathies to Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State, the families who lost their loved ones, and all Niger State residents who lost property as a result of the devastating flooding.

The Governor also emphasizes the need for strengthened disaster preparedness measures and flood management systems in northern Nigeria, particularly as the rainy season gets longer.

Governor Radda asks Almighty Allah to forgive their shortcomings and grant them Aljannatul Firdaos in fervent prayers for the souls of the deceased. The Governor also prays for the families of bereaved people who are dealing with irreplaceable losses. Allah’s strength and comfort are also at their disposal.

The Governor remarked, “I pray for Allah’s protection over all Nigerian communities against upcoming natural disasters and calamities.”

Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed
Governor of Katsina State is the state’s chief press secretary.

According to his spokesman, Yahaya Sarki, the governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, has approved the release of the 1, 138, 177, and 993.11 for the payment of gratuities and death benefits.

The funds are for local government employees, local government education authorities, and state and contract employees who retired or passed away between September 16 and December 15, 2024.

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“This approved intervention will provide for the benefit of 459 beneficiaries, demonstrating the government’s commitment to the welfare of retired workers and their families in Kebbi State,” the statement read.