National News
National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched

National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched
By: Michael Mike, Abuja
The Government of Nigeria has officially launched the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) 2021-2025. The event was attended by several cabinet ministers, members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Drug Control, NDLEA Chairman’s Special Purpose Committee on Drugs, the diplomatic corps, as well as diverse group of stakeholders.
Developed with the support of the European Union funded, and UNODC implemented project “Response to Drugs and Related Organized Crime in Nigeria”, the NDCMP 2021-2025 is the final product of a coordinated effort comprising experts from relevant government ministries, departments and agencies as well as civil society organizations. The Plan marks a significant evolution from the previous three NDCMPs, as it was able to draw on an extensive evidence base, including the first ever National Drug Use Survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics with the support of UNODC in 2018. The survey revealed an average drug use prevalence of more than 14% which is alarmingly high when compared with the global prevalence of 5.5%.
The survey also found that almost 3 million persons in Nigeria were suffering from some form of drug use disorder. Other research studies on prevalence of drug use among internally displaced persons (IDPs), migrants, students, out of school children, and women, also helped in shaping critical interventions for the Plan.
In his remarks, the Special Guest of Honour HAGF & Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN highlighted the critical importance of NDCMP 2021-2025 in providing a clear roadmap for implementing country strategies on all aspects of drug control. The Minister of Women Affairs expressed her concerns about one in four drug users being a woman or a girl and hoped that gender concerns would be adequately addressed during implementation of the Plan. The Minister of Youth and Sports Development proposed to engage National Youth Service Corp ( NYSC ) in drug prevention and sensitization work.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Alexandre Borges Gomes, Charge d Affaires, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, stated that “a balanced approach to issues of drug control” containing both soft and hard measures is the most viable way forward and commended Nigeria for developing such a Plan.
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Quoting different research studies conducted on drugs in Nigeria, including the Drug use Survey 2018, the UNODC Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Oliver Stolpe stressed on the strong evidence-base available for the development of this Plan, “an opportunity, that was not available at the time of development of previous three plans … hence NDCMP 2021-2025 would create superior impact”
Representing Chairman NDLEA Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), OFR, Secretary NDLEA, Mr. Shadrach Haruna expressed his agency’s resolve in implementing the NDCMP in close coordination with all the concerned ministries, agencies and departments. He further thanked the European Union for gracious funding and the UNODC for providing technical and advisory support through all stages.
The development of the NDCMP 2021-2025, its endorsement by the President of Nigeria, and its launch today, are significant milestones in Nigeria’s progress towards addressing drug control issues in a more focused, systematic and evidence-based fashion. The plan marks a significant shift away from an approach predominantly aimed at supply reduction to a more balanced and health-centred approach to drug control. The recent initiatives on restructuring of the NDLEA directorates and the upgrading of the Narcotics and Drug Abuse Unit within the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) to a full-fledged Division are also important reflections of this shift in the priority setting of the country’s drug control effort.
The implementation of NDCMP 2021-2025 will contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-3 to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” and target 3.5 to “strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol, as well as SDG-16 to “promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.”
National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched
National News
Nasarawa: Security operatives arrest six over kidnapping, rape and robbery in Doma

Nasarawa: Security operatives arrest six over kidnapping, rape and robbery in Doma
By: Zagazola Makama
Security operatives in Nasarawa State have arrested six suspected members of a notorious armed robbery and kidnapping gang responsible for a series of violent crimes in Yelwa Ediya village, Doma Local Government Area.
The suspects, identified as Darda’u Shehu, Yunusa Malami Hashimu, Musa Abubakar, Ibrahim Musa, Mohammed Musa, and Jibrin Lafia, were apprehended during a coordinated raid based on actionable intelligence from a concerned resident.
During interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to their involvement in the kidnapping of a local councillor, Hon. Ari Muhammad, on May 26, 2025. They further disclosed that one of their members, Darda’u Shehu, raped the councillor’s wife, Talatu Ari, during the abduction and stole two mobile phones an Infinix Note 30 valued at ₦250,000 and a Tecno phone valued at ₦20,000.
The gang also confessed to mounting a roadblock along the Doma–Yelwa Road on July 19, where they attacked one Ibrahim Haruna and snatched his Bajaj motorcycle worth ₦970,000.
Recovered from the suspects were ₦100,000 in cash and one Bajaj motorcycle believed to have been taken from one of their victims.
The suspects also named their gang leaders as Bammi Alhaji Amme (alias Zomo) and one Lawali (surname unknown), who are currently on the run.
Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the gang and bring them to justice.
End
National News
Police reunite two lost Beninese children with father in Lagos

Police reunite two lost Beninese children with father in Lagos
By: Zagazola Makama
The Lagos State Police Command has reunited two young girls from the Republic of Benin with their father after they were found wandering around the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos.
The children, identified as Mutiat Fatai, aged 10, and Mobubat Fatai, aged 5, were spotted by concerned traders roaming the BBA Market area of the complex on July 18. Both girls, described as black in complexion and Yoruba-speaking, could not provide any clear information about their whereabouts or destination.
Following a report, police operatives from the area promptly responded and took the children into protective custody at the station.
Four days later, on July 22, one Fatai Yayah, a resident of Isobe Lagbolugo, Ifonyin in the Republic of Benin, visited the station and positively identified the girls as his daughters. After proper verification, the children were reunited with him.
The Police said the swift action by the officers helped ensure the children’s safety, and they commended members of the public for their vigilance.
Police reunite two lost Beninese children with father in Lagos
National News
NAPTIP Alerts Nigerians to Increasing Challenges in Human Trafficking

NAPTIP Alerts Nigerians to Increasing Challenges in Human Trafficking
By: Michael Mike
The Director General, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Hajiya Binta Bello has alerted of the increasing challenges in human trafficking where traffickers have continued to deceive victims with pseudo job opportunities and harvested their organs..
Addressing a press conference on activities lined up for this year’s World Day Against Human Trafficking, Bello said it should interest all that the fight against human trafficking has continued to take new dimensions with emerging trends daily.
She said this is coupled with a new destination and further exploitation of victims.
She lamented that some of the disturbing trends that are on the increase, include Fake Job Opportunities and Scholarships in some destination countries; Recruitment of Victims as Marketing Agents for some branded products with the intention to exploit them; Recruitment of unsuspecting youths for Online Scam (Yahoo-Yahoo) within Nigeria, Ghana and some West African Countries; Online Trafficking/Sextortion, revenge porn,– Nigeria and Ghana.
Others are Baby Factory; Organ Harvesting; Online Loan Scheme – This is a situation where the suspect uses social media handles to lure unsuspecting victims into accepting, but at the end of the day, compel them into prostitution in return for the loan.
She noted that even though the crime of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) continues to evolve, becoming more complex, transnational and interlinked with other forms of violence and exploitation, particularly affecting women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, NAPTIP has continued to perform maximally in line with its mandates.
Bello said: “The Agency has continued to carry out its activities in line with the 5Ps Strategies of Prevention, Partnership, Policy, Protection, and Prosecution. These have metamorphosed to massive awareness across the country to reduce the vulnerability of the citizens, increased collaboration and coordination, development of counter trafficking policies, rescue and rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking,and prosecution of offenders.”
She reiterated that: “Our resolve to tackle human trafficking in Nigeria is firm and unequivocal, and we shall continue to scale our strategies to outsmart the traffickers. It is our resolve to continue doubling our efforts to outsmart the tactics of the traffickers.
“In the coming months, it will be very challenging for human traffickers in the Country. We shall increase our coordination mechanism to empower all state and non–state actors to detect and report issues of human trafficking anywhere in the Country.
“In the same vein, we have built the capacity of our Cybercrime Squad and aligned it with the Joint Case Team on Cybercrime (JCTC) under the Federal Ministry of Justice to effectively and swiftly respond and address the growing trends of online recruitment and exploitation.”
Bello said: “NAPTIP has also strengthened working relationship and collaboration with other sister Law Enforcement Agencies including the Intelligence Community to ensure adequate surveillance and interception of traffickers and victims of human trafficking. This is in addition to the reinforcement and stringent enforcement of the relevant counter trafficking legal instruments with neighbouring countries and partners to prevent human trafficking.”
She however insisted that: “Human trafficking is a visible threat to National Development. It is a crime that weakens the foundation and pillars of any nation, with women and youth as the main target. So, we must set aside any rivalry; we must join hands together and ensure the protection of Nigerians.”
On his part, the Country Representative of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Cheikh Toure reaffirmed UNODC’s unwavering solidarity with
the Nigerian people in confronting the scourge of human trafficking.
He said: “This year’s theme “Human Trafficking is Organised Crime: End the Exploitation” demands we recognize a stark reality: trafficking is not incidental crime, but a calculated, transnational enterprise profiting from the vulnerability of our women, children, and men.”
He added that: “As custodian of the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), UNODC stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Government of Nigeria. We must dismantle criminal networks through coordinated, cross-border action, strengthening justice, protecting victims, and holding perpetrators accountable.
He insisted that: “Human trafficking violates every principle of human dignity, destabilizes societies, and undermines the rule of law. Let me be clear: UNODC will deepen its partnership with Nigeria working with government, civil society, and survivors to shatter criminal empires, uplift victims, and build a future where no Nigerian is bought or sold. The time for decisive action is now.”
NAPTIP Alerts Nigerians to Increasing Challenges in Human Trafficking
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