Business

NDLEA Warns Traffickers Against Drug Ingestion

Published

16 years ago

November 11, 2009

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has warned against ingestion of hard drugs by Nigerians, noting that it is highly detrimental to health.
Alhaji Hamisu Lawan, NDLEA commander at the Abuja Airport, gave this warning recently while disclosing the arrest made by operatives of the national Airport, Abuja-”Our message to the general public is for them to say no to drug trafficking”, Lawan said.“Swallowing drugs is dangerous and could lead to death”. He disclosed that the command has apprehended five suspected drug traffickers for allegedly swallowing 410 wraps of powdery narcotic substances at the airport.
According to him, four of the suspects ingested 335 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocain with a weight of 5.750 kilogrammes while one suspect ingested 75 wraps of substances that tested positive for heroin with a weight of 1.3 kilogrammes.
Lawan gave the names of the suspects as Undeagha Ume Irukwu, 31 year old Lagos based computer dealer ingested 104 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.750 kilogrammes; Owele Edwin Okotie, 30 year old labourer in a vegetable farm in Malaga, Spain, who swallowed 100 wraps of narcotics weighing 1.6 kilogrammes and Nnaka Kingsley, 30 year old labourer in Akala, Spain, swallowed 64 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.150kg.
Others are Nwabueze Kalu Ikwa, 44 year old trader who swallowed 67 wraps of cocaine with a weight of 1.250 kilogrammes and Bonek Boniface, 31 year old labourer in Italy who swallowed 75 wraps of heroin weighing 1.300 kilogrammes.
Undeagha Ume Irukwu who ingested 104 wraps with a weight of 1.750 kg, was arrested on October 20, 2009. He was to travel in a Lufthansa flight from Abuja to Hamburg in Germany through Frankfurt.
Speaking on the reasons why he decided to smuggle illicit drugs. Irukwu said, “My house at number 29 Owokoniram Street, Mushin was demolished in September because they said it was blocking a sewage canal. Since then my wife has gone to village to stay with her mother. I need to rent a house and bring my wife and child back, that was how I became involved in drug trafficking. If only I know that I will be caught, I would not have agreed to smuggle the drugs for 3,000 Euros that they promised to pay me.
It was my friend in Port Harcourt that linked me with the people that gave me the drugs in Lagos. He gave them my phone numbers and they were the ones calling me. I swallowed the drug in Lagos and took flight to Abuja”.
Owele Edwin Okolie was arrested on October 15, 2009 at about 9.00pm while attempting to board a KLM flight from Abuja to Malaga Spain through Amsterdam. Okotie like Udeagha tested positive during screening of passengers and was placed under observation to enable him excrete the wraps of cocaine that he ingested in a bid to circumvent security checks.
According to him, he indulged in the crime after he was sacked from his job last year.
“I was sacked a year ago due to the economic meltdown. I searched for job but could not find one. My friend in Spain then suggested that I should come to Lagos and collect drugs and that they will pay me 2,000 Euros. I have no option so I accepted the offer. I am from Anambra State and I swallowed 100 wraps. When I was caught, I felt so bad because I know that it was over for me. This is my first time and I regret ever venturing into drug trafficking”, he said.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu