Crime
Nigerian nurse jailed in UK for leaving 10-week-old son to die
Ruth Auta, a Nigerian working as a nurse in the United Kingdom (UK), has been sentenced to three years in prison over the death of her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele.
Auta was sentenced by a Bolton Crown court in the UK after she was found guilty of leaving the baby (without anyone watching over the child) in her nurse’s accommodation at Royal Bolton Hospital for eight hours on December 20, 2022, to complete her shift.
She called an ambulance at 15:24 pm, reporting her son was not breathing.
He was pronounced dead at 16:40 pm, despite attempts to resuscitate him.
Auta had initially told officers from Greater Manchester police she had collected Joshua from a childminder after she had finished work on December 20.
The single mother claimed she had fallen asleep next to him and found him unresponsive when she woke up.
However, CCTV footage obtained by police showed Auta leaving her flat without Joshua at 06:47 and returning home alone at 15:13.
Messages found on Auta’s phone showed she had asked the childminder to tell the police she had looked after Joshua that day, but the nanny told officers she had not seen the baby for a few days.
Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24 May.
The case was adjourned to June 21 for sentence, but Auta was arrested at Gatwick Airport on 6 June after trying to board a flight to Nigeria on a one-way ticket.
Sara Davie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Whilst she went to work to provide care for other people, Ruth Auta left the very person who needed her care the most home alone.”
Although no conclusive cause of death could be given for Joshua, the court heard he may have overheated due to the layers of clothing and bedding he was wrapped in.
Davie said that, as a nurse, Auta should have known the dangers of leaving her baby unattended and “must now live with the consequences of the terrible decision she made that day”.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who have been affected by Joshua’s death,” Davie added.
Crime
NDLEA arrests Canadian at Lagos airport for ‘importing bags of cannabis’
The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Adrienne Munju, a Canadian, allegedly importing a large consignment of synthetic cannabis.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the 41-year-old suspect was arrested on October 3 during the inward clearance of passengers on a KLM airline flight from Canada at terminal 1 of the Lagos airport.
Babafemi added that the Munju was caught with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kg stuffed in two of her three bags.
“In her statement, she claimed she was recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos. She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing master’s degree programme in Canada,” the NDLEA statement reads.
Similarly, the anti-drug agency intercepted 13,298,000 pills of opioids and 338,253 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup at the Port Harcourt ports, Onne, Rivers.
Babafemi said the seized consignment is worth over “N9 billion in street value” and included Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, among others.
He said that the opioids were recovered in three containers coming from India, targeted by the NDLEA during a 100 per cent joint examination of the cargoes.
“NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos on Thursday, October 3, intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 50kg. The consignment was packed in 20 parcels, each in five jumbo bags concealed in a container with four units of imported vehicles that came from Canada,” the statement reads.
“Though the container had earlier been cleared out of the ESS Libra Bonded Terminal in Ikorodu but based on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives were able to trace it to a warehouse in Ikorodu where the illicit consignments were discovered in one of the imported vehicles, a Toyota Sienna bus. A suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim has already been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.”
Crime
EFCC arrests 43 internet fraudsters in Port Harcourt
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested 43 suspected internet fraudsters in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
In a statement on Thursday, Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, said the suspects were arrested during a sting operation on Wednesday at Rumuekeni and Iwofe areas of the state.
“They were arrested for alleged internet fraud following actionable intelligence surveillance on their suspected involvement in computer-related offences,” the statement reads.
“Items recovered from them include different brands of mobile phones, laptops, international passports and Automated Teller Machine, ATM cards of different banks, five vehicles, two motorcycles and a Point of Sale, POS, machine.
“The suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigation.”
Crime
NDLEA seizes 1000kg of illicit substances, nabs 420 suspects in Kaduna
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Kaduna State Command, said its operatives have seized 1,045.93 kg of various illicit substances and arrested 420 suspects in the third quarter of the year.
Its commander, Mr Samaila Danmalam, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Kaduna.
Danmalam said, “The command had within the period under review arrested a total of 420 suspects, comprising 404 males and 16 females.
“The figure represents both drug dealers, drug users and traffickers.”
The commander also disclosed that the command has made seizures of various illicit substances.
He said, “The illicit substances included Cocaine, Cannabis Sativa, Rohypnol, Tramadol, Methamphetamine, and other psychotropic substances grossly weighing 1,045.93 kg.
“The command seized a total of 1,393 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and equally seized four locally made arms in the course of its numerous operations in the period being reported.
“The command equally secured the conviction of 30 drug offenders and charged a total of 54 suspects, while investigations on others are ongoing.”
Danmalam said in its non-kinetic approach to combating the drug menace through drug demand reduction activities, the command carried out various sensitization and awareness programmes.
“It counselled 50 drug users while it rehabilitated 50 drug-dependent persons, who successfully recovered and were reintegrated into mainstream society,” he stated.
He said the command would continue to combat illicit drug trafficking even as he appealed for timely and useful information for quick response and proactive measures.
Last month, NDLEA operatives intercepted consignments of cocaine and pharmaceutical opioids concealed in ladies’ sanitary pads.
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