Crime
Abba Kyari: FG files 24 charges, seizes mega assets
Over N207m and Є17,598 were also discovered in his various accounts in GTB, UBA and Sterling Bank.
In the fresh 24-count charges filed against Kyari by the Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, J. Sunday, dated August 30, 2022, the Attorney-General of the Federation stated that the suspended DCP allegedly disguised his ownership of some of the properties.
The case filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, with charge number: FHC/ABJ/CR/408/22 had as co-defendants, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, who are believed to be the beleaguered policeman’s siblings.
Also, the Federal Government filed separate 24-count charges against Kyari’s former deputy, Sunday Ubua, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, who is under suspension.
An affidavit in support of the charge deposed to by a litigation officer with the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Stephen Kashawa, explained that Kyari, who is facing trial for dealing in cocaine, was subjected to general and financial investigation when he was transferred by the police to the NDLEA headquarters on February 14, 2022 for investigation.
He added that the financial investigation which extended to his properties led to the filing of charges for non-disclosure and conversion of large sums of money.
The deponent further said the case was ready for trial and that all the witnesses were available to proceed to trial.
Abuja land
The Federal Government said Kyari knowingly failed to make full disclosure of his asset at plot no 1927 Blue Fountain Estate, Karsana, Abuja and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 35(3)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, CAP N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The prosecutor also alleged that the embattled DCP did not declare his ownership of an estate at Linda Chaulker Road, Asokoro Extension; plot no. 5 titled BO/4546; plot no. 9 titled BO/1037; plot no. 10 titled CER/4319 and plot no 33 titled BO/4319, Maiduguri, Borno State.
Furthermore, the AGF said the suspended DCP, who is facing prosecution for illegal cocaine dealing alongside six others, failed to reveal his ownership of a shopping mall titled, NE/1229 and a polo playground with plot no. 270, both located in Maiduguri.
The charges also said the former IRT commander did not make full disclosure of his ownership of farmland along Abuja-Kaduna road and a plaza under construction in Guzape, Abuja.
Maiduguri land
In an attempt to disguise the ownership of a plot of land covered by Certificate of Occupancy no: 000271 issued by Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Borno State, Kyari was alleged to have also deposed to an affidavit at the Federal High Court, Maiduguri in suit number, FHC/NG/CS/9/2022, contrary to section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
The AGF equally accused Kyari of deposing to an affidavit to hide his ownership of plot no 9, BOTP/63 covered by the grant of right of occupancy no. BO/1087; a shopping mall at number 4, Aliyu Close along Giwa Barracks, Maiduguri, covered by Certificate of Occupancy no. NE/1229.
The charges revealed that the DCP knowingly converted N28.4 million in his GTB account number 0121075250; N65.2m in his GTB account number 0138360064; N95 million in UBA account number 1002250112 and N16.9 million in Sterling Bank account number 0072451994.
The first defendant was similarly accused of failing to declare in the NDLEA assets declaration form the sum of Є17,598 in two GTB accounts, being proceeds of unlawful activities; N2.9 million in UBA; N366, 258.77 and N88.000 in Sterling Bank.
In the charges against Ubua with number FHC/ABJ/407/22, the government revealed that he did not disclose a N100 million life insurance policy with First Bank of Nigeria Insurance Limited, including several millions stashed in different bank accounts.
The defendant was said to have converted N118.6 million using First bank account 3018154763 and $30,516.36 using Polaris Bank account 2630046721.
The ACP was accused of converting between January and March, 2022, the sum of N40.8 million in his Polaris Bank account number 1060047951, being proceeds of unlawful activities.
The government said Ubua acquired a block of lock-up shops at Utako bus terminal, Abuja for N16.8 million and also converted N33 million and N227.5 million using First bank account number 2005502596. The defendant was further accused of converting N40.8 million and another N33.7 million.
Kyari’s deputy
Count one read, “That You, Sunday Ubua, male, adult, on or about the 14th day of February, 2022, at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency headquarters, Port Harcourt Crescent, off Gombiya Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, knowingly failed to make full disclosure of your assets in the NDLEA assets declaration firm by not disclosing your N100 million life insurance policy with First Bank of Nigeria Insurance Limited contrary to and punishable under section 35(3)(a) of the NDLEA Act, CAP N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.’’
The NDLEA had earlier marked six residential houses and one plaza in Maiduguri belonging to the embattled former IRT commander.
The two-storey shopping plaza, Assurance Plaza, located along the Giwa Barracks Road in Maiduguri, has about 100 stores.
Six other residential houses within the Maiduguri New Government Residential Area allegedly belonging to Kyari were also marked by the NDLEA, 48 hours after a suspected drug dealer linked to the N3 billion worth of tramadol intercepted by the then Kyari-led IRT team was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA in Lagos.
PUNCH
The United States has said Nigeria has yet to make sufficient progress in addressing attacks on Christian communities, warning that the country’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) should remain in place.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, stated this while responding to questions from US Congressman Riley Moore during a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria on Thursday.
Moore questioned the Nigerian government’s efforts to dismantle militia strongholds and kidnapping camps in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states.
He also demanded explanations for the exclusion of Benue and Plateau from the 10 states covered by Nigeria’s new forest guard initiative, despite persistent attacks in the areas.
The congressman further expressed concern that 1,000 presidentially approved forest guards for Plateau State had yet to be deployed.
Moore maintained that the US should not remove Nigeria from the CPC list, arguing that the country had not done enough to address the violence.
“Before you answer that, we cannot take this CPC designation off of this country. They have not done enough,” he said.
Responding, Garcia acknowledged that Nigeria had not made sufficient progress but maintained that the government was taking steps to address the concerns, although the measures had yet to produce the desired results.
“I think we would agree, as Under Secretary Hooker stated, after our CPC meeting that progress has not been there, but that doesn’t mean that Nigeria is dismissing concerns, and it doesn’t mean that they’re not taking actions, but it does mean that it hasn’t had an impact to this point,” Garcia said.
He identified the establishment of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as an important step towards ensuring accountability, noting that the platform would provide a framework for monitoring Nigeria’s commitments and assessing their implementation.
Garcia also acknowledged US-supported counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin but noted that such efforts had not necessarily addressed the activities of Fulani militants operating across the Middle Belt.
“I would have to characterise the Nigerians’ placement at this point as in building capacity. And that capacity is not deployed, is not being effective yet, and is not moving fast enough, as far as I’m concerned. But we do see a seriousness, and a deployment underway with the Nigerian government,” he said.
In his prepared testimony, Garcia said President Donald Trump’s administration had prioritised the persecution of Christians in Nigeria since the country was redesignated a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, 2025.
He noted that attacks had continued despite diplomatic engagements, citing an attack on a Christian community in Kaduna State on July 27 and killings in Plateau State in August and September.
“Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped,” Garcia said, describing the attacks as an ongoing atrocity.
According to him, the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting in Abuja in January and another meeting in Washington in August, had been engaging the Nigerian government on improved security deployments in vulnerable Middle Belt communities, faster responses to early warnings and accountability for perpetrators.
He added that Washington had provided training and equipment to police units responsible for protecting vulnerable communities through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The US had also expanded biometric information-sharing with Nigeria to help identify and prosecute perpetrators and engaged Nigerian financial institutions on measures to disrupt terrorist financing networks allegedly funding attacks on churches.
Garcia further disclosed that US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, had raised concerns about civilian casualties, the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons and transparency in humanitarian aid delivery during the Joint Working Group’s second meeting.
However, he acknowledged that Nigeria’s security architecture remained stretched, while judicial access to some parts of the Middle Belt remained limited.
Garcia said the US would continue to deploy diplomatic engagements, the CPC designation and targeted security cooperation to press for the protection of Christian communities and accountability for those responsible for attacks.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Federal Government has consistently rejected allegations of a Christian genocide or systematic religious persecution, maintaining that the country’s security challenges are driven by broader issues, including terrorism, banditry, communal violence and resource conflicts, which affect citizens of different religious backgrounds.
Couple Sentenced To Five Years In Prison Each For Attempting To Sell One-Year-Old So
A Nigerian couple have been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment each for attempting to sell their one-year-old son for exploitation in Cross River State.
The couple, identified as 28-year-old Emmanuel Okechukwu Ogbodo and 22-year-old Peace Ufeabuchi Nnamonu, were convicted by the Federal High Court in Calabar after pleading guilty to conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The convicts were sentenced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after they were arraigned on November 3, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The charges were brought under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Delivering judgment, Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie sentenced each defendant to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and two and a half years for attempted child trafficking.
However, the court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, meaning the couple will each spend a total of five years in prison rather than serve the sentences consecutively.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which announced the conviction in statements shared on its Facebook and X accounts, said the prison terms would take effect from the date of the couple’s arrest.
NAPTIP condemned the couple’s actions and reiterated its commitment to prosecuting human trafficking offences and protecting vulnerable persons, particularly children.
The agency also urged members of the public to report suspected cases of child trafficking to the appropriate authorities.
Six fresh graduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have reportedly been found dead in an apartment around the Hilltop area of the university community in Enugu State.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday morning, has thrown the university community into mourning and sparked panic among residents and students.
According to a report by Daily Post, the victims, comprising five females and one male, were said to have graduated on Wednesday, a day before their bodies were discovered.
Their graduation celebration has reportedly turned into tragedy, with the circumstances surrounding their deaths yet to be established.
Efforts to reach the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, for confirmation were unsuccessful, as calls put through to his telephone were not answered.
Meanwhile, anxiety has gripped the Hilltop area and the wider university community, with students and residents seeking answers over the tragic incident.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Security agencies have launched a manhunt for two convicted inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Okene, Kogi State.
The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed the incident, which reportedly occurred on Sunday, November 8, 2026, saying efforts were underway in collaboration with other security agencies to recapture the fleeing inmates.
The Service’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Corrections Jane Osuji, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
According to Osuji, the Controller-General of Corrections has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident to establish the circumstances surrounding the escape and identify any possible security breaches.
She explained that the investigation would examine potential lapses in the facility’s security arrangements and determine appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence.
The correctional authorities assured members of the public that all necessary steps were being taken to track down the escapees and return them to custody.
The Service also pledged to provide further updates as verified information emerges from the ongoing investigation.
The incident comes weeks after an awaiting-trial inmate escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Auchi, Edo State, where he was being held over allegations of conspiracy and stealing.
Saudi Arabia has executed five Ethiopian nationals convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, bringing the number of executions carried out in the country this year to 205.
The Saudi Interior Ministry announced the executions on Thursday, November 5, 2026, saying the five men were found guilty of participating in the smuggling of hashish into the country.
According to a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency, the executions were carried out in the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The latest executions bring to 32 the number of Ethiopian nationals put to death in Saudi Arabia in 2026, making Ethiopians the largest foreign nationality among those executed this year.
Five Ethiopians were reportedly executed in June, while another five were put to death in July over similar drug-related offences.
The latest development comes amid growing international concern over Saudi Arabia’s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly against foreign nationals convicted of drug-related offences.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report published in July, warned that at least 79 Ethiopian nationals remained at imminent risk of execution over similar charges.
The rights organisation also raised concerns about alleged violations of fair trial guarantees, including inadequate access to legal representation and interpretation services for some Ethiopian migrants facing capital punishment.
Saudi Arabia recorded 356 executions in 2025, its highest annual figure on record.
Thousands of Ethiopians live and work in Saudi Arabia, many of whom migrate in search of employment through the dangerous Eastern Route connecting the Horn of Africa to the oil-rich kingdom through Yemen.
The route exposes migrants to serious security and humanitarian risks during their journey.
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