Crime
Indonesia to Repatriate British Grandmother on Death Row, Says Official
Indonesia will sign an agreement on Tuesday to repatriate two British nationals convicted of drug-related crimes, including Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother sentenced to death, according to a senior Indonesian government source.
“The practical arrangement will be signed today. The transfer will be done immediately after the technical side is agreed,” the official told AFP, naming Sandiford and Shahab Shahabadi, 35, as the individuals to be returned to the UK.
Sandiford was sentenced to death in 2013 after she was caught smuggling cocaine worth over $2.1 million into Bali from Thailand. The drugs were discovered concealed in a false bottom of her suitcase. Shahabadi, arrested in 2014, is currently serving a life sentence for separate drug offences.
Although the Indonesian source listed Sandiford’s age as 68, public records indicate she is 69.
A joint press conference with Indonesian officials and the British ambassador to Indonesia was scheduled for later Tuesday, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs.
Tabloid Attention and Personal Testimony
Sandiford’s case received widespread attention in the UK after she admitted to the offences but claimed she was coerced by a drug syndicate that threatened to kill her son. In a 2015 article published in The Mail on Sunday, Sandiford wrote from prison about her fear of imminent execution:
“My execution is imminent, and I know I might die at any time now. I could be taken tomorrow from my cell. I have started to write goodbye letters to members of my family.”
Originally from Redcar, in northeast England, she also wrote that she planned to sing the Perry Como hit “Magic Moments” before facing the firing squad.
During her time in prison, Sandiford reportedly became close friends with Andrew Chan, one of the “Bali Nine” Australian drug smugglers who was executed in 2015.
Policy Shift on Repatriation
The planned transfer follows recent moves by the Prabowo Subianto administration to repatriate foreign nationals serving harsh sentences for drug crimes. In December 2024, Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who spent nearly 15 years on death row, was allowed to return home. In February 2025, Serge Atlaoui, a French national, was repatriated after 18 years on death row.
Indonesia, known for having some of the world’s strictest drug laws, last carried out executions in 2016, when three Nigerian citizens and an Indonesian were executed by firing squad. As of early November 2025, more than 90 foreign nationals remain on death row in the country, all for drug-related offences.
The British Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment, directing inquiries to the Indonesian government.
Indonesian authorities have recently signalled the potential resumption of executions, after nearly a decade-long de facto moratorium.
Crime
KWARA UPDATE: Massacre Claims Over 170 in Deserted Nigerian Town – Govt Silent (Video)
A devastating massacre has left a Nigerian town in ruins, with reports of massive civilian casualties and widespread devastation, as the local community reels from the horror.
According to accounts from the scene, the town now lies desolate, abandoned by survivors, with corpses littering the streets in scenes likened by witnesses to a poultry farm ravaged by disease bodies scattered indiscriminately, unrecovered, and contributing to an atmosphere of total abandonment and trauma.
Initial press reports have cited a death toll of at least 75, but local sources and eyewitness claims suggest the true figure is far higher, exceeding 170 killed in the attack. The incident has been described unequivocally as a massacre by military officials, including statements attributed to the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the relevant army division, who characterized the event in those terms.
Despite the scale of the tragedy and the GOC’s public acknowledgment, the federal government team has yet to issue any official response or statement addressing the killings, recovery efforts, or security measures to prevent further violence. This silence has amplified local anguish amid the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
The attack underscores Nigeria’s persistent security challenges in vulnerable regions, where communities face repeated threats from armed groups, often leaving towns emptied and survivors displaced.
Authorities have not yet confirmed details on the perpetrators or the precise circumstances leading to the bloodshed, leaving many questions unanswered as the nation grapples with yet another episode of extreme violence.
More update soon. Watch video below:
Crime
Bandits Kill at Least 35 in Deadly Raid on Remote Kwara Village
Armed bandits launched a brutal overnight attack on the remote village of Woro in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, killing at least 35 people and setting homes and shops ablaze, according to local authorities and residents.
The assault occurred late Tuesday evening, around 6-7 p.m., when heavily armed gunmen stormed the community, shooting indiscriminately as panicked residents fled into surrounding bushland.
The attackers also torched buildings, including shops and reportedly the traditional ruler’s palace, leaving the king’s whereabouts unknown at the time of reporting.
Hon. Saidu Baba Ahmed, the lawmaker representing Kaiama in the Kwara State House of Assembly, confirmed the death toll had reached 35 by Wednesday morning, with many more residents still missing after escaping into the bush during the chaos.
Some sources described the attackers as terrorists possibly linked to groups spilling over from neighboring Niger State, amid rising insecurity in the border region.
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq condemned the incident as a “cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells” in response to ongoing counterterrorism operations in parts of the state.
Authorities have noted that the attack marks one of the deadliest incidents in Kwara this year, highlighting the persistent threat of banditry targeting isolated farming communities with killings, arson, and displacement.
Security forces are said to be reinforcing presence in the area, though initial reports indicate some discrepancies in early casualty figures, with some local accounts initially lower before bodies were recovered overnight.
The incident underscores the escalating violence in north-central Nigeria, where armed groups continue to exploit rural vulnerabilities despite government efforts to curb banditry and terrorism.
Crime
DSS Arraigns Ex-AGF Malami, Son on Terrorism Financing and Illegal Firearms Charges
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), alongside his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a five-count charge bordering on terrorism financing, aiding and abetting terrorism, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
The defendants appeared before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. According to the charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/63/2026, Malami alone faces Count One, accused of knowingly abetting terrorism financing sometime in November 2022 by refusing to prosecute suspected terrorism financiers whose case files were submitted to his office during his tenure as AGF.
In Counts Two to Five, both Malami and his son are jointly accused of engaging in conduct preparatory to committing acts of terrorism through the unlawful possession, without a valid licence, of a Sturm Magnum 17-0101 firearm, 16 Redstar AAA 5.20 live rounds of cartridges, and 27 expended Redstar AAA 5.20 cartridges at their residence in Gesse Phase II Area, Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area, Kebbi State, sometime in December 2025. The offences allegedly contravene provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act, 2004.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all counts when the charges were read to them in open court.
Following their pleas, prosecuting counsel for the DSS, Calistus Eze, urged the court to remand the defendants in DSS custody pending trial. Defence counsel, Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), made an oral application for bail, informing the court that Malami had been in DSS custody for approximately two weeks and had attended the proceedings directly from the hospital.
Justice Abdulmalik declined the oral bail application, stating that the Federal High Court, as a court of record, required a formal written application. She ordered that both defendants be remanded in DSS custody and directed the defence to file a proper bail application.
The matter was adjourned to February 20, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
This development follows Malami’s earlier arrest by DSS operatives on January 19, 2026, shortly after he perfected bail conditions in a separate 16-count money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he, his son, and wife faced related allegations.
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