Crunch Times News

By Otobong Gabriel

As part of efforts to enhance safety practices within the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, the governing board of the force has reiterated the commitment of the force in developing, implementing and reviewing policies to ensure that its operations are conducted with utmost safety.

The Chief of the Air Staff, CAS, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, gave the assurance on Wednesday during a NAF Safety Review Board, SRB, currently sitting in Lagos.

Air Marshal Amao who is also the Chairman of the Board, stated the importance of the SRB, which is to guide the NAF in appropriately allocating resources to support all safety systems and build organizational culture that fosters safe practices. 

The CAS who added that the meeting was expected to provide an avenue to examine prevalent and evolving safety challenges to enable the NAF adopt safety processes to uphold high safety standards in all its activities, also stated that beyond the discussions dwelling on safety in air operations, the year 2022 safety meeting must also deliberate on health and environmental safety measures and strategies, bearing in mind the consequences of neglecting the working and living environments as well as poor personal health management. 

Air Marshal Amao thus directed the Chief of Standards and Evaluation to ensure that all NAF units have at least a safety-trained officer to mitigate the dangers associated with poor safety management and procedures. He reiterated the need for all NAF pilots and aircrew to continue to be updated with evolving safety measures and ensure they keep abreast with new safety innovations in line with best international practices.

The SRB meeting which is expected to dovetail into a two-day Safety Seminar from November 24 to 25, comes barely a month after the NAF Operations Seminar held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

DSP Omo-Agege says Okowa led govt engulfs N2.8 trillion in 7Yrs

...Omo-Agege's utterances is a big lie- Aniagwu

By Blessing Bature

The Deputy Senate President (DSP), Senator Ovie Omo-Agege on Thursday declared that Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa led administration in Delta State has received N2.8 trillion for the past seven years without desired results.

Omo-Agege who made the declaration in a news conference in Asaba, the Delta State capital said the money included the receipt from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Internally Generated Revenue(IGR),  and other cash receipts and revenues were shrouded in corrupt opacity and mystery.

He therefore described PDP led Delta Government for almost 24 years as being backward, underdeveloped and burdened with serious unemployment, huge debts, rising crime rate, decayed infrastructure, and widespread poverty.

According to DSP, unconscionable public borrowing is at an all-time high, with borrowed funds being corruptly wasted. Due process does not matter.

"Today's Delta is a place where workers and retirees/pensioners are insulted and denied their rights, entitlements and benefits, and abandoned to die", he stated.

This, Omo-Agege appealed to Deltans in the Diaspora to join him in shaping a better future for all the people of the state.

DSP stressed that the moment has come when people of faith and divine courage must dare to walk confidently where even earthly giants fear to tread. " A time to look up to God alone".

Omo-Agege averred that his target is to exercise the right environment and support mechanism, including structured state guarantees, for the private sector to develop at least five major employment-guaranting corporate vehicles in each Local Government Area annually.

DSP said his 2023 agenda was pinched on firm promise; "The EDGE"- Employment & Empowerment; Development; Good Governance and Enduring Peace and Security.

He described the Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)in Delta State, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori as a stooge, saying that Okowa is using Sheriff to get a 3rd and 4th term.

" Our administration will focus on massive industrialization as well as create security trust fund for the protection of lives and property of Deltans", he added.

In his reaction, the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu described DSP Omo-Agege uttrances as a big lie.

Aniagwu said Omo-Agege has demonstrated emptiness, saying that he does not understand what development is all about. 

"With our massive development across the state, he pretends that he did not see the developmental strides of Okowa led administration.

" It shows that he lacks knowledge of the state he wants to rule. This road he is taken will not lead him to rule even a Local Government Area in the state ", Aniagwu averred.

NDLEA Apprehends Drug kingpin Kazeem Over Illicit Trafficking Of Drugs

By Otobong Gabriel, Abuja

A week and few days after he was declared wanted, the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested the owner of Adekaz Hotels, Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem over offences bordering on exportation and trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.

Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy of the Agency in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said the anti graft agency  had on Tuesday 1st November declared the suspect wanted following his failure to honour NDLEA invitations and an order granted by a Federal High Court in Lagos. 

"The wanted drug kingpin was uncovered as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by the anti-narcotics agency in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, UAE and other destinations outside Nigeria."

Adding that the search for him however paid off on Thursday 10th Nov when he was successfully taken into custody where he is currently being interviewed. His lid was blown open after the arrest of one of his mules, Bolujoko Muyiwa Babalola, a Lagos BRT driver on 27th June at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, when he named Alhaji Ademola Kazeem, alias Adekaz as the owner of the 900grams of cocaine he ingested. 

Specifically he said,  following Adekaz’s failure to honour invitations sent to him, the Agency approached a Federal High Court in Lagos with three prayers: to attach and seal his identified properties in choice areas of Lagos island and Ibadan; declare him wanted and block his bank account with a cash balance of Two Hundred and Seventeen Million Naira (N217,000,000.00), all of which were granted.

In a related development, NDLEA operatives also arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Darlington Chisom over her links with two Pakistanis: Asif Muhammed, 45 and Hussain Naveed, 57, arrested at the Lagos airport with 8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a sound system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahole, Pakistan via Doha on Saturday 5th Nov.

An automobile parts dealer, Omeje Oliver a.k.a David Mark who was arrested on Monday 31st October in Enugu where he fled to after abandoning his business at Aspanda, Trade Fair Complex Lagos since 16th April in connection with the seizure of 600 grams of heroin concealed inside soles of lady’s footwears going to Liberia, has been linked to another drug seizure. A further look at the Agency’s database reveals Omeje was also involved in a case of 1.580kg Methamphetamine that was seized from one Victor Nwobodo Friday, who was arrested at the MMIA during his aborted trip to Jakarta, Indonesia on February 6, 2018. Charges have been filed against the suspect at the Federal High Court Lagos in respect of the old seizure in addition to that of the recent one.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives attached to the SAHCO import shed of the MMIA Lagos have intercepted another consignment of Tramadol from Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 6 cartons comprising 497,900 tablets of Royal Tramaking brand of Tramadol 225mg with a gross weight of 304.90 kilograms were recovered after a joint examination by stakeholders on Friday 11th Nov.

Operatives in Ogun state in the early hours of Saturday 12th Nov raided a warehouse at Ogere area of Ikene LGA where they seized 273 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 3,533 kilograms (3.533tons) from a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jesutofunmi Solomon. This came on the heels of the seizure of 176kgs of C/S at Ogere trailer park on Wednesday 9th Nov and the destruction of 15 hectares of cannabis plantation in Gbamgbam area of the state.

In the same vein, operatives in Osun state have raided a cannabis plantation at Obada sawmill, Owena Ijesa in Oriade LGA where they destroyed 1.2hectares, recovered 2,823kgs of processed C/S and arrested 13 suspects on Sunday 6th November.

In Ondo, operatives seized 78kgs of cannabis from a dealer, Beauty Godwin at Ofosu along Benin-Ore express road, and another 264kgs from Abdul Rasheed Mohamm.