The Edo State Government has arrested the proprietress of an illegal orphanage in Afuze, Owan East Local Government Area, following the discovery of an alleged adoption scam that saw a prospective adoptive parent extorted out of hundreds of thousands of naira through forged government documents.

The orphanage, identified as Uwadia Children Home, was shut down by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and its operator, an elderly woman named Mrs. Grace Efe Uwadia, has been handed over to the Aideyan Police Station in Benin City for investigation and prosecution.

The case came to light after a man, Mr. Monday Akpaduma, filed a formal complaint with the ministry following a series of suspicious demands made during what he believed was a legitimate adoption process.

According to the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Akpaduma had initially applied to adopt a child through the orphanage and paid N250,000 as a processing fee. He was later asked to pay an additional one million naira before the child could be released to him. After extended delays, he was then told the adoption fee had been revised upward to two million naira, a figure attributed to the ministry itself. That claim triggered his suspicion and prompted him to go directly to the ministry to verify.

An internal investigation launched in response revealed that all documents presented to Akpaduma bearing the ministry’s name were fraudulent. They had been produced on an outdated ministry letterhead and did not originate from the ministry in any official capacity.

Akpaduma further alleged that a staff member of the Social Welfare Department in Owan East Local Government Council, identified as Mr. Vincent Ogbodo, was the source of the forged documents, pointing to possible collusion between the council official and the illegal orphanage. Ogbodo was not present at his office at the time of the operation and has not yet been arrested, though the Commissioner confirmed that efforts to apprehend him are ongoing.

The children found at the orphanage have since been evacuated to a safe location by the ministry. Some of them are currently receiving medical treatment, though the Commissioner did not specify the nature of their medical needs.

She used the occasion to reiterate that the Edo State Government does not charge arbitrary or inflated fees for adoption and urged members of the public to verify any adoption-related correspondence directly with the ministry before making any payments. She also called on residents to report suspicious activities involving children or welfare institutions to the appropriate authorities.

Investigations into the full scope of the operation are continuing.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has issued a public warning to Nigerians, cautioning that accepting packages sent from abroad without full knowledge of their contents could result in arrest, prosecution and imprisonment.

The warning was shared on X on Sunday, April 10, by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, who explained that drug traffickers operating overseas have developed a pattern of concealing illicit substances inside shipments and listing unsuspecting relatives or friends in Nigeria as the designated recipients.

According to Babafemi, when such consignments are intercepted and the named recipient collects the package, that individual automatically assumes criminal liability for possession and conspiracy under Nigerian law, regardless of whether they were aware of the contents.

He urged anyone who must receive a cargo on behalf of someone abroad to first verify every item in the shipment, recommending that recipients request a recorded video call with the sender at the point of packaging as a safeguard. Where that is not possible, he advised people to decline accepting the package entirely, irrespective of any financial incentive offered.

“Some criminal minds will stay abroad and send consignments used to conceal illicit drugs and then make their family members or close friends as consignees who will receive the cargoes on their behalf from courier companies,” Babafemi wrote. “When you’re arrested with the consignment here as the designated receiver of the goods, you bear the criminal liability of possession and conspiracy with jail as the end.”

The warning was accompanied by a recent example in which NDLEA operatives intercepted illicit drugs that had been hidden inside imported snacks. A video showing the moment the drugs were discovered inside the snack packaging has also been released by the agency.

Babafemi urged Nigerians to share the warning widely to prevent others from unknowingly becoming instruments of drug trafficking networks.

Watch the video below.

Nigerian travellers bound for home were among the thousands of passengers caught in the fallout of industrial action at Lufthansa in April 2026, with some forced to sleep at Frankfurt Airport after their flights were cancelled and rebooking arrangements fell short.

The disruptions followed a series of strikes by cabin crew and pilots at the German carrier. Cabin crew, represented by the Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation, and pilots from Vereinigung Cockpit staged staggered walkouts over demands for higher pay, improved pension arrangements, and better working conditions amid ongoing restructuring at the Lufthansa Group. Negotiations with management had broken down before the industrial action began.

Lufthansa described the unions’ demands as financially unsustainable, citing the airline’s recovery from previous economic difficulties and its need for cost discipline to return to profitability. The airline said it remained open to further dialogue.

At its peak, the strikes disrupted between 80 and 90 per cent of operations at major German hubs, particularly Frankfurt and Munich, with hundreds of flights cancelled on the worst-affected days and tens of thousands of passengers across the network left to make alternative arrangements.

Passengers whose flights were cancelled were rebooked onto other carriers, including Royal Air Maroc. However, several Nigerian travellers reported that the experience with the alternative airline compounded their frustration rather than resolving it.

One passenger who spoke to Sunday PUNCH described the overall situation as deeply distressing. “The experience was horrible. I couldn’t meet my appointment in Nigeria, and that cost me a lot. It was frustrating because there was little communication at first, and people were just left to figure things out on their own,” the traveller said.

Another passenger raised specific concerns about how stranded travellers were treated by Royal Air Maroc. “Air Maroc is a terrible airline. A flight meant for 5:55pm on Thursday was moved to the following day. Some passengers had to sleep at the airport. These were passengers whose visas had expired and the border officers did not allow them to return to Germany. The airline did not put them in the transit hotel. They just abandoned them. Some passengers were, however, put in a hotel in Frankfurt. The experience was generally awful,” he said.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority acknowledged the situation when contacted. Spokesperson Michael Achimugu confirmed that Lufthansa had formally informed the authority of the strikes. “If they can book passengers on other airlines or lodge passengers in hotels, these moves are within the regulations. It is either that or passengers are stuck there forever,” he said.

In response to the mounting pressure from repeated industrial action and rising operational costs, Lufthansa announced it would accelerate its restructuring programme by permanently withdrawing all 27 aircraft belonging to its regional subsidiary, Lufthansa CityLine, from service beginning April 18, 2026. The airline said affected staff would be offered transfer opportunities within the group, with redundancy negotiations ongoing.

Passengers whose flights were cancelled or significantly delayed may be entitled to compensation under European Union aviation regulations, depending on the specific circumstances of their booking.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has arrested two examination candidates and a parent in connection with the falsification of 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination results using artificial intelligence and other electronic tools.

The board’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, disclosed the arrests on Friday, April 18, in a statement released alongside the scores of 632,788 candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, April 16, the first day of this year’s UTME.

According to Benjamin, the suspects were caught manipulating official SMS result notifications sent by JAMB in order to fabricate or alter scores, with the intention of deceiving parents, guardians and other parties.

“Currently, two candidates and one parent are in custody for engaging in result falsification using AI and other electronic means,” the statement read.

Benjamin described the conduct as a serious criminal offence and warned that the board would pursue all individuals found culpable to the full extent of the law.

He also cautioned candidates against any attempt to tamper with result messages originating from JAMB’s official SMS platforms, which operate on the short codes 55019 and 66019.

Candidates who sat Thursday’s examination can access their results by sending the text “UTMERESULT” to either 55019 or 66019 from the mobile number used during registration. The board noted that the printing of official result slips is not yet available and will be activated at a later date.

The 2026 UTME commenced on April 16 and is scheduled to run until April 22 across examination centres nationwide. JAMB said results will continue to be released in batches as the examination progresses.

Leidiane was turning 39 and celebrating with friends at her home in Curitiba, Brazil. The night ended with her in intensive care and her estranged husband at the centre of an attempted femicide investigation.

The Brazilian content creator and mother of three had been at her birthday party on Sunday, April 12, when her recently separated husband, Clair, showed up. The two had been together for five years before their separation, and according to Brazilian outlet Record, their relationship had a documented history of domestic violence.

The confrontation that night reportedly started over a cellphone. Clair accused Leidiane of having his phone. The argument escalated and eventually spilled out of the house and onto the street outside the party, in full view of her guests.

What happened next, according to the outlet, was that Clair got into his car and drove it directly at her.

Leidiane was sent flying by the impact. She was rushed to intensive care with a fractured femur. Her aunt, Elisangela Markuetti, confirmed her condition to reporters, saying she would need to have a pin inserted and that she was in significant distress both physically and emotionally.
“She’ll have to have a pin inserted, she’s very distressed,” Markuetti said.

Authorities have opened an attempted femicide investigation into the incident. Her family is publicly calling for justice and has been vocal about the need for accountability.

She had been celebrating her birthday surrounded by the people closest to her. She should have been safe.