The federal high court in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their merchant vessel of trafficking 20 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Apapa seaport.

The sailors were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in November 2025 at Apapa seaport.

The vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, with registration number 9760110, arrived in Nigeria from Santos in Brazil.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and entered a plea bargain agreement.

The anti-drug agency had disclosed that its officers discovered the “Class A drug” buried under the ship’s cargo on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

The NDLEA arraigned the sailors and the vessel on a four-count charge.

The defendants are Eugene Quinos Corpuz; Mark Joseph Jardiniano; Alexis Navidad Evarrola; Francis Gerard Niones Carpio; Franz Jude Mayran; Mahinay Junniel Lagura; Mario Ganiban Malvar; Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan; Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda; and Edwin Baltazar Reyes.

In his judgment, Ayokunle Faji, the trial judge, found the vessel guilty for an offence under section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The judge ordered the vessel to pay the sum of N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution in the sum of N5.3 million to the federal government.

The judge convicted three principal officers of the vessel who are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants. They were asked to pay N100,000 each and a restitution of $100,000 each to the federal government.

After conviction, the judge ordered the 5th to 11th defendants to pay N100,000 each in addition to a restitution of $50,000 each.

According to the NDLEA, the total money to be paid to the federal government by the vessel and the 10 sailors is $6 million and N1.1million as restitution and penalty.

Reacting to the judgment, Mohammed Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, said the conviction of the vessel and its crew members is a “lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade”.

“Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets,” Marwa said.

“We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are now hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”

A man has been caught on video while allegedly attempting to lure a young girl hawking avocados with ₦1,000 for sexual purposes.

The unfortunate incident, which surfaced in a viral video, was shared by content creator LordZeus in a post shared on IG on Monday, who confronted the suspect.

When questioned, the man denied the allegation and claimed he was the girl’s father.

But the child contradicted him, stating that he approached her and asked her to follow him to a secluded place so they could “touch body,” promising to give her ₦1,000. She added that when she refused, the man brought out the cash in an attempt to persuade her.

During the confrontation, some bystanders pleaded on behalf of the suspect, claiming he was mentally unstable and alleging that the girl was not the first child he had approached.

Reacting, LordZeus challenged the defence, questioning why alleged mental illness should excuse such behaviour toward a minor.

He also used the moment to caution parents against sending young girls out to hawk, noting that female child hawkers are often

He wrote, “Parents please, no matter how hard life gets, do not allow your girl child especially underage to hawk on the streets alone. Even If they must hawk, hawk alongside them.

“They are constantly at risk of se*xual harassment, and many of them will never speak up. I’ve hawked before, so I know exactly what life on the street is like.

“Imagine if this man was able to manipulate the little girl with just 1,000 naira , this will be unimaginable.

“Ihe na-eme nu o. Let’s do everything possible to protect our girl children. Their safety and dignity must come first before any other thing. It can only get better ”

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)  have arrested a 74-year-old man at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, after cocaine concealed in food items was found in his luggage.

Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s director of media and advocacy, in a statement on Sunday, said the suspect, identified as Ikwuakalom Nwakoro Emeka, was arrested at the departure hall of the airport on Saturday while attempting to board a British Airways flight to London.

Babafemi said the suspect, who claimed he was travelling to London for vacation, was intercepted during routine checks.

He added that a search of the suspect’s luggage led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 11 kilogrammes concealed in food items, including ground dry pepper, and wrapped in foil papers and balloons.

Babafemi said the arrest was part of a series of operations carried out by the agency across the country in the past week.

In Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested Maryam Olalowo at Ikad Hotel and Suites on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island, while she was allegedly attempting to sell 89 grammes of cocaine and 20 grammes of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis.

He said the suspect was found with her three children, including an infant, at the time of the arrest.

Babafemi added that she told investigators the illicit drugs belonged to her husband, Ibrahim Olatunji.

He said the husband was subsequently arrested the same day while the woman was immediately released.

Babafemi said Olatunji confirmed ownership of the drugs during interrogation.

“Further investigation revealed that he had previously been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for a similar offence in 2015,” the statement reads.

Meanwhile, in another operation in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects; Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim, at Ebetu Ero on Lagos Island.

He said officers recovered 68,000 pills of tramadol (250mg and 225mg) after the suspects had loaded the drugs into a truck and were preparing to transport them to Benin Republic on March 9.

Babafemi said a follow-up operation on March 11 led to the arrest of Nnamdi Cyprian, described as the owner of the consignment, at Idumota market on Lagos Island.

He added that a search of his shop uncovered a parcel prepared for waybill delivery containing 1,000 tablets of tramadol (250mg).

Babafemi said another raid at Idumota market on March 13 resulted in the arrest of Nwanosike Kelvin, from whose shop officers recovered 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection.

In Kano state, the NDLEA spokesperson said officers arrested Magaji Dan Azumi, 42, at the Bebeji area with 386 kilogrammes of skunk on March 10.

He said NDLEA officers in Abuja also recovered 282.2 kilogrammes of skunk from a suspect, Isah Wako, 42, in the Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on March 13.

Babafemi said operatives in Edo state raided the Egwa forest reserve in Aduan village, Orhionmwon LGA, where a suspect, Chinedo Odalonu, 33, was arrested.

He added that officers destroyed 4,218.96 kilogrammes of skunk on two farms in the forest while recovering 16.5 kilogrammes of the same substance.

Babafemi also said no fewer than 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on March 14 during a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, customs officials, and other security agencies.

He said the containers had earlier been placed on a watch list following intelligence suggesting that opioids were concealed in the shipments.

Babafemi said the agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities across the country, including lectures delivered to students and staff of schools in Nasarawa, Oyo, Delta, Cross River, and Edo states.

He added that the zone 11 command of the agency also paid an advocacy visit to Francis Nwifuru, governor of Ebonyi state.

Babafemi said Buba Marwa, chairman and chief executive officer of NDLEA, commended officers of the Abuja and Lagos airports, Kano, Edo and FCT commands for the arrests and seizures recorded in the past week.

He added that Marwa also praised other commands across the country for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.