Nelson Ugwuagbo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a Lagos-based socialite, Afolabi Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, in connection with a 184.5kg cocaine consignment valued at about N39 billion.

Kazeem was arrested on August 13 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria for Paris on a business class flight.

The NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing, saying the socialite was arrested alongside Lawal Kehinde, an employee of a logistics company.

According to Marwa, the operation resulted in the largest cocaine seizure ever recorded from a courier company by the agency.

He said operatives arrested Kazeem at the boarding gate of the Lagos airport as he attempted to leave the country.

“This cartel leader did not walk into our custody voluntarily; he intended to flee the country on a business class flight to Paris. Our operatives apprehended him at the boarding gate of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, just as he attempted to escape the reach of the law,” Marwa said.

The NDLEA boss added that operatives recovered expensive jewellery, N100,000, £2,800 and €7,750 from Kazeem at the time of his arrest.

He further disclosed that exotic vehicles were also recovered from the suspect’s apartment in Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The agency said the arrest and seizure formed part of its ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating in the country.

The European Union has ruled out deploying a full election observation mission to Nigeria for the 2027 general elections, citing worsening insecurity and what it described as the hostile treatment of its observers and officials following the 2023 polls.

The decision brings to an end more than two decades of full-scale EU election observation missions to Nigeria.

The EU conveyed its position in response to a letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, inviting the bloc to observe the 2027 general elections.

In its correspondence, the EU reportedly cited the deteriorating security situation across the country and the treatment of its observers and officials after the publication of its final report on the 2023 elections as reasons for its decision.

Rather than the large-scale deployment seen in previous election cycles, the EU is expected to station only a small number of officials in Abuja to monitor developments and report back to Brussels.

Sources familiar with the correspondence said the number of officials could be about three.

There would be no deployment of long-term observers to the states, no short-term observers on election day and no chief observer, unlike previous EU election observation missions in Nigeria.

INEC had invited the EU to observe the 2027 elections, continuing a practice that has been in place since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

The EU observed Nigeria’s general elections in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.

The 2023 mission was the bloc’s seventh election observation mission to Nigeria since 1999, according to its then chief observer and Irish member of the European Parliament, Barry Andrews.

For the 2023 elections, an 11-member core team of experts arrived in Abuja on January 11, six weeks before the presidential election.

The mission later deployed 40 long-term observers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

Short-term observers were subsequently deployed ahead of election day, bringing the total number of accredited observers to 110 from the 25 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Canada.

A delegation of the European Parliament also joined the mission for the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The observers remained in Nigeria until April 11, weeks after the February 25 presidential election and the March 18 governorship and state assembly polls.

The EU mission presented its final report in Abuja in June 2023, making 25 recommendations across six priority areas.

The report identified what the mission described as enduring systemic weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral process and said shortcomings in electoral law and administration had hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections while damaging public trust in INEC.

The report sparked protests at the EU delegation’s office in Abuja, with demonstrators accusing the bloc of interfering in Nigeria’s internal affairs and demanding the withdrawal of the report.

At the time, opposition figures and civil society groups alleged that the protests were sponsored by supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, an allegation that was denied.

The EU’s decision comes amid persistent security challenges across parts of the North-West and North-East, the Middle Belt and the South-East.

Sit-at-home enforcement and attacks on electoral facilities disrupted the conduct of the 2023 elections in several states.

Large-scale election observation missions require personnel to travel to polling units, including those in rural and remote communities where security support may be limited, making such deployments increasingly difficult.

The decision could have implications for international scrutiny of the 2027 elections, given the scale and duration of previous EU observation missions.

Other international bodies, including the National Democratic Institute, NDI, International Republican Institute, IRI, Commonwealth and African Union, have also observed elections in Nigeria, although none has matched the EU in the scale and duration of its presence, according to stakeholders.

The EU had committed €39 million in 2022 under the second phase of its Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria programme, covering the 2022 to 2027 electoral cycle.

It also committed a further €13 million specifically for technical support to INEC ahead of the 2023 elections.

However, the EU’s correspondence did not indicate whether its decision not to deploy a full observation mission for the 2027 polls would affect those funding arrangements.

The development could also raise concerns about the level of international scrutiny of the 2027 elections amid declining public confidence and voter participation.

Voter turnout in the 2023 presidential election stood at about 27 per cent, the lowest recorded since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.

Stakeholders have argued that the presence of credible international observers provides an additional layer of scrutiny and helps strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.

The 2027 general elections are scheduled for February, with INEC already making preparations, including continuous voter registration and a review of polling unit distribution.

When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Oketola Oriye, declined to comment, saying the information available to him was at variance with the claims.

Similarly, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kemiebi Ebiemfa, declined to comment. Messages sent to her active phone line were delivered but unanswered.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that the privacy of his banking information may have been breached after an unexplained payment was made into one of his personal bank accounts.

The 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

According to the statement, the transfer originated from an unidentified individual and was accompanied by the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”

Atiku said neither he nor his campaign team requested, approved, or had prior knowledge of the payment, describing the transaction as unauthorised.

“Neither His Excellency nor his campaign solicited, authorised or has any knowledge of the individual or entity behind the unauthorised payment,” the statement said.

The former vice president expressed concern that the incident suggests his confidential banking details may have been exposed, raising questions about the security of his personal financial information.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, has urged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to improve governance, declaring that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said all it needed to say on the state of the nation.

Speaking during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, on Monday, Onaiyekan said the bishops were not interested in engaging in a public war of words with government spokespersons following their recent meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

His comments come amid exchanges between the Presidency and the CBCN after the bishops presented their assessment of the country’s economic and security situation during an audience with the President last week.

The cleric dismissed suggestions that the bishops were advancing a Catholic agenda, insisting that their intervention was driven by a moral and spiritual obligation to speak on issues affecting all Nigerians.

“We are done talking. You can govern better. We didn’t go there just as Catholic bishops pushing the Catholic agenda. No. We went there as people who are with the spiritual mandate to speak to anybody in the name of God,” Onaiyekan said.

He added that government supporters and spokespersons were entitled to defend the administration as they deemed fit, noting that the bishops would not be drawn into further arguments.

“That some of the supporters of government and the state and spokesperson may have their own idea about what they think they should be saying on behalf of their principal, is their business, not mine,” he stated.

Onaiyekan also said public reactions to the controversy reflected the views of many Nigerians, stressing that he had no need to respond further.

“As for response to the things we are hearing, I don’t even have to say anything because the social media is full of response from Nigerian people and that for me is more than enough,” he said.

Nigeria’s Minister for Mines, Dele Henry Alake, prides himself on his re-election as Chairman of the newly formed Africa Minerals Strategy Group. He congratulates himself on the cover of magazines.

As a former journalist Minister Alake is good with scripting media stories. He doesn’t have any background in mining or related industries.

During President Tinubu’s two terms as Governor of Lagos State it was Alake who managed the Governor’s media as the Commissioner for Information and Strategy.

Since bagging the Ministry for Sold Minerals Development Minister Alake’s primary focus has been on securing large-scale investments and fostering partnerships for local mineral processing.

This has led to the development of several lithium processing plants in Nigeria, primarily backed by Chinese investment.

Minister Alake’s emphasis on moving beyond raw material extraction to local processing is a good decision that will support Nigeria’s industrialization and economic diversification.

However, favouring Chinese companies and punishing local Nigerian miners is a cruel blow to Nigerians and a step too far in surrendering Nigeria’s natural assets to a foreign power.

Under Minister Alake’s tenure, major Chinese companies such as Canmax Technology, Jiuling Lithium, Avatar New Energy, and Asba have pledged lithium processing facilities in Nigeria.

Since late 2025, Canmax has aggressively secured raw spodumene (lithium ore) to feed its expanding processing faciliies.

Canmax Technologies is primarily owned and controlled by its founder and chairman, Mr Pei Zhenhua, alongside his wife, Rong Jianfen.

Alake claims Canmax is investing US$200M to develop lithium mining operations in Nigeria, in line with Chinese aggressive moves to control African mineral resources and infrastructure such as ports and railways necessary to exploit the mineral reserves.

In late 2025, Chinese megafirm CATL announced plans to increase its stake in Canmax’s lithium subsidiaries.

CATL holds approximately 40 percent of the global EV battery market and almost 70 percent of the NCM (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese) battery market in China. China as a whole processes approximately 65 percent to 80 percent of the world’s lithium.

As the dominant player in China, CATL effectively directs a majority of the lithium hydroxide refined within the country toward its own Gigafactories.

While UK company Jupiter Lithium Ltd’s massive lithium project in Kaduna State reels under the onslaught from armed illegal miners, Alake’s ministry deployed a specialized security unit known as Mining Marshals to safeguard nearby Canmax and Avatar sites from illegal mining activities.

No amount of requests from Jupiter for assistance from Minister Alake elicited any support. Rather, Minister Alake revoked key lithium deposits discovered by Jupiter and allowed Chinese mining companies, escorted by Federal Government security, to enter Jupiter’s leases and commence mining and removing the ore mined and stockpiled by Jupiter.

Minister Alake has prioritised diplomatic engagement with Chinese officials to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and find ways to diminish the public attention to China’s involvement in illegal mining in Nigeria.

The mines minister has become a strong and frequent advocate for China’s involvement in Nigeria’s minerals and infrastructure development which has been a hallmark of his many trips to China.

Nigeria has fallen into line with China’s strategy for accessing and controlling Africa’s minerals resources and delivering more markets for Chinese technology and products.

China’s first stage of embedding itself in another nation is the offer to develop a country’s infrastructure; ports, roads, airports and railways. This essential infrastructure often facilitates the development of mineral projects China has chosen.

The second stage is introducing Chinese technology through the project development, especially surveillance technology.

China replaces the US-based Global Positioning System (GPS) with China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system and blocks access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite.

In so doing China is able to offer its support for the national government while penetrating Nigeria’s national security. Chinese technology can deliver facial recognition throughout entire cities, even at night.

In Iran several of China’s communications companies including Huawei, facial recognition and ethnicity tracking company Tiandy Technologies and ZTE, often operating through Iranian front companies, have worked with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to provide 360 degrees 24/7 surveillance of Iran’s population.

Iran and China have signed a 25-year co-operation agreement that will facilitate the transfer of a range of surveillance and monitoring technologies under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Surveillance of a nation’s populations is now an integral part of China’s program of building a nation’s infrastructure through roads, airports and mines. This provides an unprecedented tool for national governments to retain power and be manipulated by China.

…Steven Kefas is a conflict reporter with keen interest in mining and solid minerals.