Crime
Woman sells sibling for ₦410k, gives money to fiancé to buy items for their wedding

A 24-year-old woman, identified as Blessing Okonkwo, has confessed to selling her three-year-old sibling (name withheld) at the cost of 410,000 naira to raise money for her traditional wedding and other needs.
Okonkwo is a resident of Mubi in Adamawa State, while her sibling lived with their mother, Hauwa Lawan, in Rimirgo in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
The suspect reportedly tricked her mother before taking the kid on the false pretence of enrolling him in a school in Mubi, some 40 kilometres away from Rimirgo.
After several weeks, their mother became worried as all her attempts to speak with her son over the phone were cunningly thwarted by Okonkwo.
Lawan resorted to flagging the situation to the police, which led to the arrest of the suspect.
Narrating the incident, Okonkwo said she sold the boy for 410,000 naira to a willing buyer, one Efunaya Nabufe, who trafficked the victim to Enugu city in the southeastern state of Enugu.
“I used the proceeds of the crime to buy a grinding machine so I can start a business and also gave my boyfriend ₦200,000 to buy items required for our traditional wedding,” the suspect confessed to the police.
Mother in dismay
For her part, Lawan expressed dismay, wondering how her daughter could sell her sibling to a total stranger.
“She visited sometime last year and lied to me that she would be taking her kid brother to enrol him in a school in the city, seeing there’s no good school in our village.
“Ever since she took away the boy I never heard from him because any time I called to hear his voice she kept telling me one lie or the other for one year now. I got tired of asking and since I least suspected my own daughter could do this to me, I didn’t raise any alarm.
“As God will have it, she took a proposed husband home to her father in the southeast, the father demanded to know the whereabouts of his child first before attending to her marriage proposal.
“She then lied to him that the kid was dead, but the father consulted an oracle and was told the child was alive. He then threatened her and she opened up and told him the truth; that he was living with a woman in Enugu.
“When her father informed me, I reported the matter to the police who swiftly arrested her and her accomplice, the child trafficker, one Efunaya Nabufe,” the distraught mother narrated.
Police confirm child trafficking incident
The Spokesperson of the Adamawa State Police Command, SP Suleiman Nguroje, who confirmed the incident, said Okonkwo and Nabufe are connected to the crime.
“On July 2, 2024, one Hauwa Lawan, a resident of Rimirgo in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, reported to the Adamawa State Police Command that her 3-year-old son was stolen.
“Immediately the Commissioner of Police, Dankombo Morris, ordered the Divisional Police Officer in Mubi South, SP Aaron Ezra to commence investigation and as God would have it two suspects, Blessing Friday, 24 and Efunaya Nabufe, 35 were apprehended in connection to the crime.
“As it stands, the CP has directed that discreet investigation be conducted after which all suspects, including the two who are giving useful information, would be charged to court according to the extant laws of the land,” Nguroje said.
Crime
NAFDAC busts massive fake drug operation in Abia

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has uncovered a large-scale operation dealing in expired and falsified drugs at Umumeje village in the Osisioma Ngwa area of Abia State.
NAFDAC disclosed this in a statement and videos shared on X.com on Friday.
According to the agency, the premises, comprising several buildings near the bustling Ariaria International Market, served as a hub for repackaging and revalidating expired medicines, which were later sold to unsuspecting consumers.
The statement partly read: “Seized items consisted of expired potassium chloride, allergy medications, immune boosters, and cholesterol treatments.
“Machines used to rebrand and alter expiry dates were also discovered on-site.”
It added that the raid led to the arrest of several individuals associated with the operation. However, the prime suspect behind the illicit trade remains at large.
“Despite efforts to reach him, he showed no concern for his detained family members,” the statement read.
NAFDAC added that the operation, conducted in collaboration with security agencies, is part of the federal government’s ongoing crackdown on the circulation of counterfeit drugs in the country.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to eradicating the distribution of substandard and falsified drugs in Nigeria.
It also stated that it is currently reviewing its laws to impose stricter penalties on individuals and organisations involved in the production and distribution of dangerous pharmaceutical products.
Crime
Imprisoned ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in jail for corruption

A Pakistani court has sentenced the country’s already-imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years in jail after finding him guilty of corruption.
Bushra Bibi, his wife, was sentenced to seven years as an alleged accomplice.
The case concerns the misuse of authority and corruption involving Khan’s Al-Qadir University project trust.
Khan was also fined 1 million Pakistani rupees ($3,500) while Bibi was fined half.
Khan’s lawyer announced the development on Friday but noted that the convictions were made on January 13.
The former prime minister faced allegations of bribery, involving land in return for a £190 million money laundering favour to Malik Riaz, a real estate tycoon.
This marks the fourth major case Khan has been convicted for.
Three earlier convictions, announced in January last year, were related to selling state gifts, leaking state secrets, and unlawful marriage, all of which were overturned or suspended.
Dozens of cases against him are still pending.
The former prime minister, who remains behind bars, has described the situation as a political witch-hunt.
Khan, who was Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 until his removal in 2022, is also banned from politics for five years.
Crime
Fake lawyer arrested in Lagos court while representing client

Police have arrested a suspected fake lawyer identified as Godwin Eguabor while he was representing a client in a court in Lagos state.
Eguabor reportedly appeared before a magistrate court in the Badagry area of Lagos on Wednesday on behalf of a litigator.
Atule Elchors, the vice-chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Badagry branch, said at the court hearing on Wednesday, Eguabor announced his appearance as legal counsel to a client.
Elchors said he has been hearing a rumour that a fake lawyer was engaging in legal services in Badagry.
“I stood up and told the court that the person who appeared before the magistrate is not a legal practitioner,” NAN quoted the NBA vice-chairman saying.
“And that we have been looking out for him.
“We asked for his supreme court number, which is the enrollment number of every lawyer, but he could not answer, he was just telling us stories.
“The worst thing is that the name he is using in court is different from the name he gave the police when they came to arrest him.”
BAIL APPLICATION
On Thursday, Eguabor was taken to the magistrate court by the police and charged for an offence bordering on illegal parade of oneself as a lawyer.
Edet Ekpo, the prosecutor representing the police, told the court that the offence contravened section 380 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
L A Layeni, the magistrate, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.
Layeni ordered that one of the sureties should be a company’s managing director and present a statement of account of the company for one year.
He said that the sureties must deposit N25,000 to the account of Ikeja high court registrar.
He adjourned the case to February 19 for further hearing.
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