Connect with us

Crime

Abba Kyari’s arrest a clear message of NDLEA’s commitment- Marwa

Published

on

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.

Also Read: NNPC begin 24-hour distribution as fuel scarcity stretches…

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

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Crime

Exclusive: How bandit kingpin Jankare was killed in Katsina

Published

on

Exclusive: How bandit kingpin Jankare was killed in Katsina

By: Zagazola Makama

Fresh fact have emerged how the Notorious bandit kingpin, Kachalla Abdurrahman Jankare, was killed by a rival in an internal dispute in Tsaskiya village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Reliable security and local sources Zagazola Makama that Jankare was gunned down on Thursday by a fellow bandit identified as Nazanku, a trusted ally of another notorious bandit leader, Dan Ori.

The incident, sources said, stemmed from a feud over the seizure of a rifle and a bag containing magazines belonging to Nazanku.

“Last week, Jankare seized Nazanku’s rifle, and just yesterday, he also took a bag in which he kept magazines. This provoked Nazanku, who confronted him and shot him dead,” one of the sources said.

Only seven people reportedly attended Jankare’s funeral prayer before he was buried later in the day.

Until his death, Kachalla Jankare was one of the most feared lieutenants of the late Kachalla Usman Modi Modi and was linked to several deadly attacks and kidnappings in Dutsinma, Safana, and Kurfi Local Government Areas of Katsina State.

His death is said to have triggered renewed tension among rival bandit factions across the northwest forest axis.

Exclusive: How bandit kingpin Jankare was killed in Katsina

Continue Reading

Crime

JNIM claims first attack in Kwara, four months after announcing new brigade

Published

on

JNIM claims first attack in Kwara, four months after announcing new brigade

By: Zagazola Makama

Al-Qaeda–linked militant group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for an attack in Kwara State, its first in Nigeria, four months after announcing the establishment of a new brigade in the country.

According to intelligence sources, the attack reportedly occurred in the northern part of Kwara, along the border corridor linking Niger and Kogi States.

JNIM, which operates mainly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, announced in June the creation of a new brigade for Nigeria, raising concerns about a possible southward expansion of jihadist influence.

Zagazola said that the claim aligns with earlier intelligence warnings of cross-border infiltration through smuggling routes connecting Benin Republic and Niger.

“JNIM’s latest statement describes the attack as the debut operation of its Nigerian brigade. If verified, this would indicate a dangerous evolution of the regional threat landscape,” the source said.

Security operatives in Kwara, Niger, and Kogi States should intensify patrols and surveillance in response to the development, with reinforcements deployed to border communities.

Military and intelligence agencies should work to identify possible linkages between JNIM operatives and local extremist networks.

The incident comes amid heightened regional insecurity and the continued fragmentation of terror groups across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

JNIM claims first attack in Kwara, four months after announcing new brigade

Continue Reading

Crime

ISWAP ambush mobile police patrol team in Yobe

Published

on

ISWAP ambush mobile police patrol team in Yobe

By: Zagazola Makama

Suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Wednesday ambushed a mobile police patrol team along the Bara–Gulani axis of Yobe State, inflicting injuries on two officers and carting away a rifle.

Zagazola learnt the ambush occurred at about 5:00 p.m. while the team, comprising operatives from 19 PMF on special duty in Bara and 79 PMF Buni Yadi, was responding to a distress call from Kojoli village in Gulani Local Government Area.

It was gathered that the officers had been alerted by residents after armed herders reportedly invaded local rice farms and destroyed crops. The patrol team, led by ASP Sunday Yunana, moved to the scene but came under heavy attack from the assailants.

The insurgents, believed to be operating under the ISWAP faction, opened fire using assault rifles and other weapons before retreating into the bush.

Two personnel, identified as Sgt. Abdullahi Aminu and Cpl. Aliyu Suleiman, sustained machete injuries during the exchange, while one of their rifles was initially seized by the attackers.

However, the team reportedly fought back, recovering the stolen weapon and dispersing the attackers after an intense gun battle. A large herd of cattle suspected to have been used by the assailants to cover their movement was also recovered.

The wounded officers were evacuated to the General Hospital in Bara for treatment, while security reinforcements were deployed to the area to forestall further attacks.

ISWAP ambush mobile police patrol team in Yobe

Continue Reading

Trending

Verified by MonsterInsights