The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has called on women in the legal profession to embrace mentorship and deliberate leadership development as critical instruments for advancing women’s participation in the administration of justice and the legal profession.

The National Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Dr Prince I. Azubuike, who   disclosed this in a statement, said  the NBA President  made the call during a fireside chat at the South-South Zonal Conference of the National Association of Women Judges of Nigeria (NAWJN), held in Port Harcourt, last Friday.

The conference, which attracted jurists, legal practitioners and women leaders from across the South-South geopolitical zone, was held under the theme, “Mentorship and Legacy Building: Fostering a Culture of Mentorship of the Next Generation of Women Leaders in Law.”

Speaking on the topic, “Women in Leadership: Influence, Impact and Legacy”, the NBA President shared insights into her personal journey to leadership, highlighting the challenges, sacrifices and experiences that shaped her professional advancement.

She particularly reflected on her early years of building a successful legal career, explaining the challenges of balancing professional responsibilities with family life and other personal commitments.

She noted that achieving leadership positions in the legal profession requires determination, consistency and the willingness to overcome institutional and personal barriers that women may encounter in their careers.

She, therefore, urged women lawyers to recognise mentorship as an important tool for bridging generational gaps, promoting professional excellence and preparing younger female practitioners for leadership responsibilities.

According to her, experienced women in the profession must deliberately create opportunities to guide, encourage and nurture younger colleagues, rather than leave their professional development entirely to chance.

Badejo-Okusanya also outlined the vision of the NBA Women Forum under her leadership, disclosing that its activities over the next two years would focus substantially on developing women leaders at both the branch and national levels.

She explained that the initiative would be driven through structured mentorship sessions and practical platforms designed to enable participants to apply the knowledge and leadership skills acquired during such engagements.

The NBA President emphasised that increasing the representation of women in leadership positions would create more opportunities for other women to emerge, contribute meaningfully and occupy strategic positions within the legal profession.

She further maintained that leadership should not merely be measured by the positions individuals occupy but by the positive influence they exert, the opportunities they create for others and the enduring contributions they leave behind.

Badejo-Okusanya also challenged participants to rise above limitations, confront barriers to their professional advancement and remain committed to achieving their aspirations in the legal profession.

The fireside chat provided an opportunity for participants to engage with the NBA President on leadership experiences, professional growth and the importance of building a sustainable mentorship culture, with attendees commending the openness and insights drawn from her personal experiences.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Nigerians based in Europe after they allegedly ingested 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46Kg while attempting to travel from Abuja to Paris, France.

The suspects, identified as Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The NDLEA, in a statement by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, yesterday, said the suspects, who had returned to Nigeria for holidays, were arrested after body scans confirmed that they had ingested illicit substances.

Babafemi said Odife, who lives in France and works in a factory, arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday but was arrested while attempting to return to Europe.

He said he confessed to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine, which he subsequently excreted under observation. The drugs weighed 1.901kg.

The statement partly read,  “Two Europe-based Nigerian ‘businessmen’ who flew home on holiday and attempted to return to Paris, France with their bellies loaded with cocaine have been arrested by operatives of the  NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“The duo, Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, 28th October 2026, during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris. Both men have excreted a total of 200 wraps of the Class A drug weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.

“Odife, who claims to live in France where he works in a factory, had arrived in Nigeria for a short holiday on 21st October.

“He was, however, arrested by NDLEA operatives on his return flight a few days later, when he was subjected to a body scan, which confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.

“Under interview, he admitted to having ingested 110 pellets of cocaine. He was placed under observation during which he excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine with a total weight of 1.901 kilogrammes.”

Babafemi said his co-traveller, Blackborn, also tested positive during a body scan and confessed to swallowing 90 wraps of cocaine.

According to the agency, he excreted all the wraps under observation, with the substances weighing 1.559kg.

The NDLEA also reported several drug seizures and arrests across the country, including the recovery of 976kg of cannabis from two commercial buses in Lagos.

In Oyo State, two suspects, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on Thursday, October 29, while allegedly loading 554kg of cannabis into a truck along Idere Road, Igboora.

In Kano State, operatives recovered 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7kg and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7kg during a raid in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa.

The agency also arrested two men with 19,250 pills of tramadol in Dorayi, Kano.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested a woman, Aisha Isah, with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.

In another operation along the Zaria-Kano Expressway, a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, was arrested with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.

In the statement, Babafemi quoted the agency’s Chairman, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), as warning Nigerians living abroad against using their overseas residence as cover for drug trafficking.

Marwa said, “The interception of the two cocaine couriers at Abuja airport is a fresh warning to those who think they can use their residence abroad as cover to traffic drugs across Nigerian borders.”

He added that NDLEA operatives at all entry and exit points remained vigilant.

“There is no hiding place for anyone who chooses to risk their life and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for a fee,” he said.

The NDLEA chairman commended officers of the agency’s commands in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo states for the arrests and seizures.

He also urged officers to sustain the fight against drug trafficking and intensify drug demand reduction campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse initiative.

The Nigeria Customs Service has stepped up efforts to tackle cross-border money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes by seeking stronger intelligence sharing and operational cooperation with six security and regulatory agencies.

The agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, are expected to strengthen coordinated action against illicit financial flows and criminal networks operating across Nigeria’s borders.

The initiative also involves the Nigeria Immigration Service and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser.

A statement issued by the customs spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, yesterday, said the collaboration followed a three-day engagement by the Customs Service with the agencies between October 27 and 29, 2026, as part of efforts to address weaknesses in information sharing and improve the detection of suspicious cross-border transactions.

The exercise was led by the Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Headquarters, Muhammad Shuaibu, who said the engagement was designed to improve coordination among institutions responsible for tackling financial crimes and threats to national security.

Shuaibu said the initiative would go beyond routine consultations by examining practical Customs controls at border stations and strengthening cooperation among relevant agencies.

“The sole objective of this mission is to effectively detect and disrupt cross-border illicit financial flows. The measures include field visits to selected border stations to assess practical Customs control measures and engage with relevant agencies,” he said.

The engagement comes amid persistent concerns over the use of Nigeria’s borders for smuggling, drug trafficking, movement of illicit funds and other transnational criminal activities.

Financial crimes and terrorism financing often involve complex networks that cut across different jurisdictions and require intelligence from multiple institutions. Customs officers, who monitor the movement of goods and cargoes across the country’s borders, are strategically positioned to identify suspicious trade transactions and movements that could be linked to criminal activities.

However, the effectiveness of such interventions depends largely on the ability of security and financial intelligence agencies to exchange information and act on shared intelligence.

Speaking during the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Intelligence Security Service Sector, Muhammed-Mustapha, commended the Customs Service for its role in border security and efforts to combat smuggling.

He described the relationship between both institutions as longstanding, noting that Customs was among the earliest agencies to collaborate with the financial intelligence unit when it was established.

“When NFIU was created, NCS was the first to collaborate with us. No particular agency understands things better than how Customs does globally,” Mustapha said.

The World Customs Organisation mentoring team, led by Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, also participated in the engagements, sharing approaches to combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

The team urged stronger collaboration with the Customs Service, stressing the importance of coordinated institutional responses to financial crimes.

Despite the renewed commitment, the discussions exposed some challenges that could undermine the proposed cooperation.

Participants identified communication gaps, bureaucratic bottlenecks and concerns over database privacy as some of the obstacles affecting information sharing among government agencies.

The agencies subsequently examined ways to address the problems and improve institutional coordination to ensure that intelligence could be exchanged and acted upon more efficiently.

The engagement also featured the presentation of Nigeria Customs Service awards and World Customs Organisation certificates to participating agencies in recognition of their contributions to the initiative.

Meanwhile, the Customs Service has also taken its modernisation programme to the international stage, showcasing its digital transformation efforts and the deployment of emerging technologies to improve border management and facilitate legitimate trade.

The Service presented its reforms at the World Customs Organisation Smart Customs Project Global Event 2026, held at the WCO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, from October 29 to 30.

Represented by an Assistant Comptroller, Omolara Adedeji, the NCS highlighted its Unified Customs Management System, known as B’Odogwu, alongside its investments in artificial intelligence, data analytics and electronic cargo tracking.

In a presentation titled, “Nigeria Customs Service: The Journey Towards Smart Customs,” she said the modernisation programme was aimed at improving operational efficiency, strengthening risk management and making trade processes more transparent.

“The NCS is undergoing a deliberate transition from traditional Customs operations towards integrated digital operations. Through the Service’s Modernisation Project, we are strengthening automation, electronic processing and data-driven decision-making to build a more efficient, responsive and technology-driven Customs administration,” she said.

Adedeji identified smart technology and smart data as the two major pillars of Nigeria’s Smart Customs vision.

She explained that smart technology involved automation, integrated systems, digital platforms and modern information and communications technology infrastructure, while smart data focused on intelligence-led interventions, data-driven risk management, analytics and improved information sharing.

The presentation also highlighted B’Odogwu, the Unified Customs Management System, as a major component of the modernisation programme.

The platform is designed to support automated Customs procedures, electronic processing and improved engagement with government agencies and private-sector operators.