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Capital Punishment to Drug Offenders May Not Reduce Level of Crime, UNODC Warns

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Capital Punishment to Drug Offenders May Not Reduce Level of Crime, UNODC Warns

By: Michael Mike

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said that the move by the Nigeria’s Senate to give capital punishment to drug trafficking offenders may add little or nothing to reducing the crime.

Country Representative, UNODC, Oliver Stolpe, gave the verdict at a two-day Media Personnel Training on Ant-Corruption, Police Accountability, Wildlife Crime and Sensitization on Drugs Prevention, Treatment and Care, (DPTC), organized by the UNODC, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other partners, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said: “The deterrent effect of death penalty as never convincingly be proven. There is no proof of the effectiveness of death penalty.

“Our stance as UN is clear on the death penalty we are principally and categorically against it. And from a very practical viewpoint, I have to say, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Stolpe insisted that the UN has always advocated for clear distinction between crimes of drug trafficking as opposed to the issue of drug use which it considers primarily to be a health issue,”and that should be dealt with as such. addiction is a health condition, it is not a choice.”

On the need for an updated drug data for Nigerians, he observed that the current national drug survey for Nigeria was last done six years ago, (2018), and therefore does not reflect the current situation for Nigeria.

He noted that: “The drug use survey of 2018 remains as far as I can tell the most cited study in the media, this data is outdated and I think a very critical question that media could ask at that point is really well, how can we still refer to 2018 data to describe today’s levels of drug use?

Speaking on the importance of the training,, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Brigadier General Buba Marwa, (Retired), said the media remains an indispensable partner in Nigeria’s drug war .

Represented by the Secretary NDLEA, Shedrach Haruna, he said “For us in NDLEA, the media is a valued partner on whom we rely to foster a friendly ecosystem that aids anti-illicit drug abuse and trafficking in society.

“This is well-thought training for media professionals, given that the media is a crucial link between the public and law enforcement and a potent tool for the entrenchment of transparency and accountability in the law enforcement process.”

Capital Punishment to Drug Offenders May Not Reduce Level of Crime, UNODC Warns

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NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books

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NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment of cocaine concealed in 20 sets of religious books going to Saudi Arabia.

The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday said the cocaine consignment consisting of 20 parcels with a total weight of 500 grammes and buried in the pages of the religious books was uncovered at a courier company in Lagos last Tuesday when NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) were searching through export cargos going to Saudi Arabia at the logistics firm.

Babafemi said at another courier company same day, NDLEA officers intercepted five parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 2.8 kilogrammes hidden in a carton coming from the United States of America.

In Kano, a 22-year-old alleged supplier of illicit substances to bandits, Muhammad Mohammed, has been arrested by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bichi – Kano road while heading to Katsina with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private part with Sellotape.

He was intercepted on Sunday 13th April, while another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was nabbed same day at Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano with 68 blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 30 kilogrammes.

He said not less than 557.2 kilogrammes of skunk, 5.6 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 29.8 grammes of heroin were recovered from a house along Major General Isaiah Alllison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state where four suspects were arrested when NDLEA operatives raided the premises last Wednesday

Babafemi said the four suspects arrested during the raid include: Sarimiye Suwa, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46, while a total of 1,100 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from a delivery van with the driver, Ismail Abdullahi arrested in Surulere area of Lagos last Thursday.

In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives last Friday raided the hideout of a suspect, Ike Ani, 30, in Zaria, where no fewer than 31,950 pills of tramadol 225mg and diazepam were recovered, and in Kebbi, along Bagudo road on the same day a vehicle loaded with bags of charcoal coming from Malabil, Benin Republic was intercepted, when the vehicle was search, 97 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in the sacks of charcoal was recovered.

. Three suspects: Abubakar Ibrahim, 50; Mustapha Aliyu, 32; and Bashar Lawali, 28, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

A 48-year-old Okafor Marcel was nabbed with 11.5 kilogrammes skunk at Abatete, Anambra state while NDLEA operatives in Osogbo, Osun state last Tuesday arrested Ajala Mercy, 27, with 43 litres of skushi, a mixture of black currant, cannabis and opioids recovered from her room at Dada estate, Halleluyah area of the state capital.

Babafemi said two cannabis farms in Egbeta forest, Ovia North East LGA, Edo state were raided by NDLEA operatives who destroyed 3,717.8625 kilogrammes of the psychoactive plant on 1.487145 hectares and recovered 136.5 kilogrammes of processed cannabis.

At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, a suspect Basorun Kayode, 40, who has been at large for two years was arrested by NDLEA officers in connection with the seizure of 107 kilogrammes Loud imported from Canada in 2023, while another suspect, Dauda Yakubu who distributes illicit drugs within the seaport community was arrested by a team of operatives last Monday.

The spokesman said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of DOGI, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo and Tin-can commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books

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Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno

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Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

A devastating fire broke out at the Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) on April 19, 2025, destroying approximately one hundred thatch and makeshift houses.

Eye witnesses said that the fire started at around 1040hrs and rapidly spread across the settlement, burning household items, foodstuffs, and other valuable properties to ashes.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and the value of the property destroyed is still being assessed.

Humanitarian officials were immediately deployed to the scene to maintain crowd control and prevent looting, while firefighters, alongside camp residents, worked tirelessly to extinguish the flames.
Fortunately, no casualties or loss of life were reported.

Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno

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Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno

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Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

Armed assailants suspected to be members of ISWAP/Boko Haram attacked and snatched a vehicle in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) on April 18, 2025, at about 1400hrs.

Saleh Haun, a resident of the Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, reported that while he was at the Gumnari Bush Area in Monguno, four armed gunmen, riding on two motorcycles, accosted him.

The assailants, at gunpoint, seized his white Toyota Land Cruiser, before fleeing with the vehicle to an unknown location.

A Military Forward Operating Base (FOB) has been alerted, and efforts are underway to to track the assailant and recover the stolen vehicle.

Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno

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