Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), says about N100 billion recovered from corruption cases has been reinvested by the federal government into the student loan and consumer credit schemes.

Issa-Onilu spoke on Thursday in Abuja during the October edition of the joint security press briefing — an inter-agency update on security, anti-corruption, and public communication.

He said the reinvestment reflects the federal government’s commitment to ensuring that funds recovered from corruption directly improve the lives of citizens through social and economic programmes.

“Every kobo recovered from corruption must work for the people — funding education, credit, and health reforms rather than lying idle,” Issa-Onilu said.

The NOA DG also gave updates on the performance of the country’s security and anti-corruption agencies in October, noting a marked improvement in inter-agency collaboration and measurable progress in transparency and accountability.

He said the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) received 44 petitions in October, concluded 15 investigations, and secured two convictions, recovering N840 million and $919,000.

Under the leadership of Ola Olukoyede, he said, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered an estimated N566.3 billion and $411.6 million between 2023 and 2025, with 1,502 properties forfeited to the federal government.

According to Issa-Onilu, part of these recoveries is now being channelled to fund reforms that directly impact ordinary Nigerians, particularly in education and access to credit.

The government acknowledges the sacrifices of our security forces and reaffirms that data-driven collaboration and citizen intelligence are central to sustaining national peace and safety,” he said.

He added that the government’s “whole-of-government” approach — integrating intelligence, enforcement, and civic participation — was helping to build trust and enhance transparency.

Issa-Onilu also noted that the proactive use of both human and digital intelligence strengthened security responses, leading to a reduction in fatalities from violent crimes across the country.

The NOA DG said October recorded a 12 percent drop in fatalities, from 210 in September to 185, while arrests of major suspects rose by 33 percent and rescues of abducted victims increased by 40 percent.

He said the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) seized over 70 containers of counterfeit goods, while the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) dismantled 14 drug syndicates, arrested 1,378 suspects, and secured 251 convictions.

According to him, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) rescued 76 victims of human trafficking and processed 15,000 visa applications under its new digital system, while the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) recorded an 11 percent reduction in fatal crashes.

Issa-Onilu said the NOA reached about 32 million citizens between August and October through television, radio, and digital platforms to promote civic awareness, public accountability, and national unity.

Accurate information saves lives; misinformation costs them,” he said, urging Nigerians to verify information before sharing and to report suspicious activities to relevant authorities.

China says it firmly supports the Nigerian government as it “leads its people on the development path suited to its national conditions”.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Beijing, Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said “as Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force”.

Ning was answering a question on US President Donald Trump’s threat of military action in Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians.

She also responded to the report that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seeking military equipment from China, Russia, and Iran to prepare for possible attacks by the US.

China has a clear-cut stance on the US cracking down on so-called ‘drug cartels’ by force in the Caribbean Sea,” Ming said.

“China supports the effort of combating cross-border crimes through stronger international cooperation, and opposes using or threatening to use force in international relations

We stand against moves that undermine peace and stability in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, and oppose unilateral and excessive ‘enforcement operations’ against other countries’ vessels. We hope the U.S. will engage in normal law enforcement and judicial cooperation through bilateral and multilateral legal frameworks.”

Trump warned the Nigerian government to act fast to end the “killing of Christians” in the country.

He had also called Nigeria a “disgraced country”.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the US leader said.

I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action.

“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

The Nigerian government has repeatedly baulked at claims of a Christian genocide in the country.

In a riposte to Trump’s redesignation, President Bola Tinubu said: “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.

Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”

The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio ordered officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to seize her international passport, thereby preventing her from travelling abroad.

In a video obtained by Naija News on Tuesday, the visibly upset lawmaker was seen confronting immigration officers at the airport, accusing them of unlawfully restricting her movement.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who shared details of the incident with journalists, described the alleged action as a violation of her fundamental human rights.

Hello, fellow Nigerians. I’m Senator Natasha. Having completed my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. I’m at the airport here, and my passport has been withheld again,” she said in the viral video.

She recalled a similar experience in the past when she was stopped from travelling despite having no pending charges or court orders restricting her movement.

“This same thing happened before when I was stopped from travelling even though I had committed no offence, and there was no court order restricting me,” she said.

According to the lawmaker, one of the immigration officers informed her that the directive came directly from the Senate President, who allegedly accused her of damaging Nigeria’s image through her interactions with international media.

The officer in charge told me that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he claimed that each time I go abroad, I ‘spoil the image of the country’ by granting interviews to international media,” Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged.

She decried what she called harassment and intimidation, insisting that her constitutional rights to freedom of movement and expression must be respected.

As of press time, neither the Nigeria Immigration Service nor the Office of the Senate President had issued any official response to the senator’s claims.