Crime
Abba Kyari’s arrest a clear message of NDLEA’s commitment- Marwa
Abba Kyari’s arrest a clear message of NDLEA’s commitment- Marwa
By: Michael Mike
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen Buba Marwa (retd), has said the arrest of the suspended Commander of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari, is a clear message that no one would be spared in the agency’s ongoing war against illicit drug business.
Marwa said this on Wednesday in an address in Abuja during a training on Sensitization on Drugs and Drug Prevention, Treatment and Care (DPTC) organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for NLDEA personnel and selected journalists.
He said that the system cannot allow those given the responsibility to fight crime, which includes the matter of drugs to themselves be proponents of it.
The anti-narcotics czar said the fight against drug abuse is serious business and the agency is committed to pursuing a drug free nation.
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He said: “The media has a very important role to play in our society. The business of getting information out needs to be accurate and professionally done especially in the business of drug control, drug abuse, trafficking, there are technicalities that you need to get sufficient knowledge of the terrain so that when you get the word out, it is gotten out accurately because you mould the opinions of millions. It is for this reason that I urge the journalists to please take this training seriously and take full advantage of it.
“While we are at it there is an ongoing play which we are witnessing and I have followed the role of the media even in it. It is a serious business that is ongoing. We all are responsible. We want a drug free nation. We may not get to zero level, but definitely there is a certain minimum acceptability standard that we are all pursuing. And those given the responsibility to fight crime which includes the matter of drugs cannot themselves be proponents of it. This message I believe we have sent abundantly clear.”
Responding, Country Representative of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Oliver Stolpe, said more is still required to be done in the fight against drug abuse.
He said, “I think there is still more to be done because I still believe that most Nigerians perceive drug use as more of a failure of some sorts of basically those people that are using drugs.
“It has not yet been fully appreciated
that drug use is a health condition first and foremost and it is a health condition that affects this nation much more severely than I think there is a true awareness of.
“Just to give you an idea. HIV/AIDS that USAID and international development partners have spent billions to fight to put under control affects 1.9 million Nigerians as we speak. COVID-19 affects roughly half a million people.
“The drug use epidemic in terms of pure use affects around 40 million Nigerians as we speak, and around 3 million are affected with what we would refer to as a drug use disorder. It means they would require medical intervention to stop using drugs. So this is a higher number than HIV/AIDS or COVID-19 and yet I think in terms of what is being put towards addressing this issue, it falls significantly short of other efforts.”
Stolpe added: “That is not to say other efforts are less important. It is just to say you need to understand where your public health priorities stand, where they are and how much resources are you putting against them to address them. So it is really critical and that is the message that I hope you will continue to help us to spread.”
Abba Kyari’s arrest a clear message of NDLEA’s commitment- Marwa
Two drug kingpins convicted, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
By: Michael Mike
The National Drug Law Enforcement Against (NDLEA) has gotten two drug kingpins convicted and sentenced by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
A statement on Tuesday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency Femi Babafemi read that: “Two notorious drug kingpins: 37-year-old Ajetsibo Emami popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’ and 51-year-old Solomon Akpomuai have been convicted and sentenced to a combined 10 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Lagos.”
He said Emami was arrested in Ikeja Lagos on Saturday 28th June 2025 after NDLEA operatives dismantled his drug trafficking network in a three-day operation leading to the arrest of three other suspects.
He added that recovered from Emami’s network were 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 414.2 kilogrammes.
Babafemi said the bust of Emami’s drug ring followed credible intelligence on his attempt to move the shipment to Lekki area of Lagos, from where it will be distributed to other parts of the state and across the country.
He said Emami was subsequently arraigned before Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court 8 Lagos in charge number FHC/L/636C/2025 bordering on dealing in illicit drugs.
In his ruling delivered on Monday, the trial judge convicted Emami on the one count charge filed against him by NDLEA prosecutor Assistant Commander of Narcotics Buhari Abdullahi, sentencing him to six years in prison with an option of N50 million fine in lieu of jail.
Babafemi said, in his case, Solomon Akpomuai was first arrested by men of Customs Service along Shagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway with 2,197.8 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis on 3rd June 2025 and transferred to NDLEA on 16th June after which he was arraigned in charge number FHC/L/635C before Justice Dipeolu for trafficking illicit drugs in large commercial quantity. Also delivering his judgement on the matter, the trial judge convicted and sentenced Akpomuai to four years in prison with an option of N50million fine.
Meanwhile the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) has described the conviction of the two drug kingpins as an indication that Nigeria will sooner than later surmount the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking as a result of the positive outcomes of the current balanced approach to the agency’s drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
He commended the judiciary, NDLEA officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of the cases as well as other stakeholders for their commitment to the cause of a drug free country.
Two drug kingpins convicted, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
Kidnappers forced to abandon ransom, arms after accident in Nasarawa
By: Zagazola Makama
Kidnappers operating around Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have abandoned a ransom and arms after their getaway vehicle was involved in an accident.
The incident occurred on Monday morning at Angwan Mayo, along Kokona axis, when the gang’s Peugeot 406 car, loaded with guns, crashed shortly after collecting ransom from their victims.
Witnesses said the kidnappers managed to escape the scene, leaving behind the money and weapons.
Troops of the Nigerian Army were swiftly deployed, securing the vehicle and recovering the abandoned items.
Security forces have intensified pursuit of the fleeing suspects.
Kidnappers forced to abandon ransom, arms after accident in Nasarawa
Police arrest INEC officials, recover election materials in Taraba by-election
By: Zagazola Makama
The Police Command in Taraba has arrested some Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and recovered election materials allegedly diverted during the by-election for Karim Lamido I Constituency of the State House of Assembly.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that on Sunday that the arrests followed credible intelligence provided by party agents.
The sources said the incident occurred on Aug. 16 at about 2:20 p.m. when a team of policemen intercepted the suspects at a private residence in Angwan Sarkin Panya village.
Those arrested included Gideon Amos, 49, an Assistant Presiding Officer II assigned to Polling Unit 16, Angwan Yusuf Dogo, Bikwin Ward, and two others identified as Matthew Jayi, 47, and Tiasama Mathias Musa, 32.
The suspects allegedly diverted materials meant for three polling units PU 005 Gandara, PU 016 Angwan Yusuf Dogo, and PU 029 Angwan Sarkin Primary School — to the residence.
Items recovered from them included three ballot boxes, two BIVAS machines, 19 booklets and 20 pieces of ballot papers, two stamp pads with ink, one marker, and two result sheets.
The sources also disclosed that in the process of resisting the diversion, a police officer on election duty, PC Christian Garba, had his uniform forcibly removed by hoodlums who fled with it.
The sources added that voting had ended in most polling units and collation of results was in progress while investigations into the incident were ongoing.
End
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