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Customs intercepts dried shark fins, donkey genitals worth N1.23bn at Lagos airport

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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Muhammed airport command, has intercepted dried shark fins and donkey genitals worth N1.23 billion in Lagos.

At a news conference on Thursday, Muhammed Yusuf, the command’s area comptroller, said the operation was successful through coordinated anti-smuggling activities in synergy with critical stakeholders.

Yusuf said the shark fins were seized from a Nigerian heading to China, while the donkey genitals were retrieved from a Chinese heading to Hong Kong.

He said six packages of dried shark fins has a free on board (FOB) value of N221.9 million, while the 25 packages of donkey genitals has an FOB value of N1.01 billion, both totalling N1.23 billion.

Yusuf said animals have a role to play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, adding that endangering them would affect the environment.

“These items were seized mainly because of various forms of infractions on export guidelines and failure to comply with CITES Law on endangered species as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act,” he said.

“From the number of fins we have here, the implication is that we have over a thousand sharks that have been endangered.

“We cannot go on with this illegal trade because at the end of the day, it will be problem for us.

“We have over 1000 fishes whose fins have been harvested here and if this is allowed to go on, high numbers of donkeys will be endangered.

“Animals in the sea have a role they play, endangering them will affect the ecosystem and for us officers at the NCS, we will always make sure that these items under export prohibition are not allowed to go.”

Yusuf said the command generated N47.25 billion, representing 83.24 percent of target met between January and July.

“When compared to the same period in 2022 of N40.335 billion, a progressive difference of N6.914 billion, representing 17.14 percent increase,” he added.

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Gunmen abducts CAC members travelling for burial in Ondo

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Some members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Oke Igan, Akure, Ondo state capital have been abducted.

The Ondo police command confirmed the abduction on Saturday.

The church members were reportedly travelling for a burial ceremony when they were attacked and abducted by gunmen at Ifon in Ose LGA of the state.

Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, police spokesperson in the state, said the victims were kidnapped on Friday afternoon.

“Yesterday afternoon, the police was informed that a church bus with the inscription CAC was abandoned around Elegbeka area and there are suspicions that the passengers in the vehicle were kidnapped,” Odunlami-Omisanya said.

“The police anti-kidnapping squad and other tactical teams have been deployed to the area to rescue the victims and arrest all involved in the crime.”

A family member of one of the abductees, who did not want to be named, said the victims are members of the church’s choir.

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Lagos state government announces closure of Ojuelegba Flyover Bridge for repair of truck barrier

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The Lagos State Government has announced traffic diversion at Ojuelegba flyover bridge on the night of Monday, October 2, 2023, from 10pm to 6am.

This is in line with plans by the state government to repair the truck barrier at the bridge which was recently damaged again.

This is contained in a statement issued by the state government on Friday, September 29, 2023, and can be seen on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The state government in the statement said that the following alternative routes will be available to Motorists during the diversion:

Motorists from Eko Bridge/Constain/Iponri inbound Ojuelegba/Alhaji Masha Road will be diverted to the service lane from Alaka via the National Stadium gate to link Barracks or Alhaji Masha Road to continue their journeys.
Motorists from Eko Bridge via Costain and those from Apapa Road going through Iponri will make use of Iponri Estate Road to link Bode Thomas via Adeniran Ogunsanya to Shitta Roundabout for their desired destinations.
Motorists were implored to be patient as the brief closure of the bridge is planned for night time as part of a traffic management strategy to avert further accidents and loss of lives.

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Mohbad: Witnesses to appear October 13 as coroner begins sitting

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The coroner’s inquest into the death of the singer Mohbad began sitting in Lagos on Friday.

Mohbad, 27, died on September 12 and was buried the next day.

The circumstances surrounding his death have sparked controversies on social media.

Thousands of Nigerians have demanded justice for Mohbad in nationwide protests.

On September 18, the Lagos police inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe Mohbad’s death.

On Tuesday, the Lagos state judiciary said it will begin a coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death following a request submitted by Falana & Falana Chambers.

The first sitting was held on Friday at the Candide Johnson court in Ikorodu, Lagos.

Representatives of the parties in the case had a close-door session to determine different matters.

Funmi Falana, a lawyer representing Mohbad’s family, told BBC that the sitting was to determine the persons of interest to be invited to the court.

She said people should be hopeful as the lawyers will pursue the cause of justice.

“What we did today was to determine the how and what procedures to follow to help us get justice. We have fixed the next date and we will bring in our witnesses,” she said.

“We are representing the interest of justice, we should allow peace to reign but justice must be served. We will get to the root cause of the death”.

Festus Ogun, a Lagos-based lawyer, said any witness who fails to appear in court will be charged with contempt of court.

The court thereafter fixed October 13 for witnesses to present their pieces of evidence in court.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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