A High Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, has convicted a 48-year-old man, Kabiru Shekare, for sexually exploiting minors in a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Shamsudeen Ja’afar on April 24, 2025.

Shekare, a resident of Maƙerar Gandu area in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area, was arraigned before High Court 7, a special court designated for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, on a five-count charge of sexual exploitation.

The charges were brought under Section 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 (as amended).

The court found the defendant guilty on counts one and two, while he was discharged and acquitted on the remaining three counts. He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment on each of the two counts, with an option of a N1 million fine per count.

Failure to pay the fines will result in an additional one-year imprisonment for each.

The court ordered that the prison terms run concurrently, effective from May 3, 2024, the date of his arrest.

The prosecution, led by Barrister Muhammad Abubakar, presented damning evidence, including a confessional statement by the convict, statements from five 10-year-old victims, all pupils of Atiku Bagudu Science Model Primary School, Makerar Gandu, as well as a medical report from the Sexual Referral Centre at the Kebbi Medical Centre in Kalgo. Also submitted was an official letter from the school management seeking an investigation and prosecution.

In defence, Barrister Hamza Na-Gari argued that Shekare suffered from epilepsy and insanity, presenting a medical report in court.

However, Justice Ja’afar ruled the report inadmissible and proceeded with the conviction.

The case was prosecuted by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Kebbi State Command.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has stepped up its offensive against drug trafficking in Kano and beyond, arresting multiple suspects, including a 60-year-old grandmother and a major distributor of opioids.

In a statement issued by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, the agency revealed that operatives, acting on intelligence, intercepted a Toyota Sienna packed with opioid consignments along the Kano-Ringim road in Gumel, Jigawa State, during a late-night operation around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 23.

Two individuals, Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29, were apprehended at the scene.

Recovered from the vehicle were 200,000 tablets of tramadol (250mg) and 217,500 pregabalin capsules.

A rapid follow-up raid took NDLEA operatives to Mil Tara, Layin Technical in Kano, where they arrested 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad at his home. Searches led to the discovery of an additional 1,584,000 tramadol pills hidden inside an 18-seater Nissan bus and within a room in the house.

In total, the agency recovered a staggering 2,001,500 pills of opioids.

Babafemi described the seizure as a heavy setback for drug cartels smuggling drugs between Kano, Yobe, and neighboring Niger Republic.

Separately, in Kumbotso LGA’s Samegu area, NDLEA officers arrested 60-year-old Safiya Shamsu, who was caught with 5.6 kilograms of skunk, a potent variety of cannabis.

Another suspect, 35-year-old Muntari Labaran, was detained in Yelwa, Dala LGA, after authorities found him with 100 litres of codeine syrup.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded the commitment of the operatives involved, highlighting their contribution to the agency’s twin efforts in reducing drug supply and curbing demand.

He also praised officers nationwide for their roles in advancing the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campign.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has attributed Nigeria’s stunted growth and rising poverty levels to the failure of political leadership over the years.

He also lamented that Nigeria has more poor people than China, Indonesia, Vietnam, combined.

Obi made this assertion while delivering a lecture on “Politics and Change in Nigeria” at Johns Hopkins University in the United States on Thursday, at the invitation of Professor Peter Lewis, renowned author of “Growing Apart: Comparing Indonesia and Nigeria.”

Sharing highlights of the lecture via his verified X handle on Friday, Obi emphasised that the fate of a nation is closely tied to the quality of its leadership.

“The failure of a nation depends largely on its Political Leadership. Competent, capable and compassionate political leadership, with integrity, will help nations to achieve sustainable growth and development,” he said.

Obi compared Nigeria’s trajectory over the past 35 years with that of three other developing nations such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and pointed out that, while these countries have moved into higher categories of human development, Nigeria has regressed.

“In 1990, the year the measurement of the Human Development Index (HDI) was started, these 3 comparable nations, including Nigeria, were all classified under the medium category… 35 years later, 3 of these nations have moved up to the High category of HDI while Nigeria has fallen into the low category,” he stated.

On the economic front, Obi highlighted how Nigeria, which once had a higher GDP per capita than China and Vietnam, has now fallen far behind.