Security and political developments dominate major news stories this afternoon as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency announced the arrest of a long-wanted drug kingpin, known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” 12 years after his alleged involvement in the killing of three NDLEA officers.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sued state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to account for billions of naira spent as security votes since May 29, 2023.
An aide to President Bola Tinubu also sparked widespread debate after declaring the end of what he described as the era of imperial dominance of the old Oyo Empire.
In the far north, the Nigerian Air Force has neutralised more than 40 terrorists in coordinated close air support and air interdiction operations at Azir and Musarram areas of Borno State.
Wanted drug kingpin arrested 12 years after killing three NDLEA officers
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, also known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” 12 years after his alleged involvement in the killing of three NDLEA officers.
According to the agency on Sunday, following his involvement in the killing of the officers, Kanmo-Kanmo—who is notorious for drug trafficking, evading arrest, and mobilising armed thugs against security agents—was on Friday, January 16, 2026, tracked to his hideout in Owode town, Ogun State, by NDLEA tactical teams acting on credible intelligence.
During the operation, the suspect was found in possession of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
SERAP sues govs, Wike over security vote fund spending
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a lawsuit against state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to account for billions of naira spent as security votes since May 29, 2023.
SERAP said the suit was prompted by persistent insecurity across several states and the FCT, despite huge public funds allocated annually to security votes, including reports of mass killings in Benue State and other violent incidents nationwide.
According to the organisation, over ₦400 billion is budgeted annually as security votes across the country, while at least 10 governors reportedly earmarked about ₦140 billion for the same purpose in the 2026 budget year.
Defection: APC suspends e-registration in Kano on Tinubu’s order, says Doguwa
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of the commencement of the All Progressives Congress’ electronic registration exercise in Kano State.
The directive was disclosed by a member of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, in a 27-second video circulated on social media.
The development comes barely a week after the Kano State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Hon. Ahmed Aruwa, told PUNCH that the party was set to flag off the e-registration exercise in the state.
Oyo Empire belongs to history, no Yoruba king holds supremacy — Tinubu’s aide
A Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has sparked widespread debate after declaring that the era of imperial dominance associated with the old Oyo Empire has passed.
Ajayi also stated that no traditional ruler holds supremacy over others in contemporary Yoruba society.
In a post on X, in which he attached a photograph of the current Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, Ajayi maintained that the historical Oyo Empire should not be conflated with present-day cultural or political authority, stressing that Yorubaland was never entirely under the rule of the Alaafin.
NAF airstrikes kill over 40 terrorists in Borno
The Nigerian Air Force has neutralised more than 40 terrorists in coordinated close air support and air interdiction operations at Azir and Musarram areas of Borno State, disrupting planned attacks and bolstering ongoing ground operations.
The operations were conducted on January 15 and 16 by the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI, following a distress report at Azir, where troops were engaged with terrorists withdrawing from the area.
According to the Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, further scans revealed terrorist elements attempting to regroup under nearby tree cover, prompting precise and successive airstrikes that neutralised several of them.
Police arrest three suspects over killing of Kano woman, six children
The Kano State Police Command has arrested three principal suspects in connection with the killing of a housewife and her six children in Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters of the Kano metropolis.
The arrests followed widespread outrage over the killing of Fatima Abubakar and her six children, who were attacked in their home in Dorayi Chiranchi on Saturday.
According to the police, a nephew of the deceased woman confessed to masterminding the attack and leading the syndicate responsible for the killings.
