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Newly refurbished forensic lab will enhance NDLEA’s performance – Marwa

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Newly refurbished forensic lab will enhance NDLEA’s performance – Marwa

By: Michael Mike

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) has said that the upgrade of the forensic laboratory of the agency by the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) will enhance operational standard and optimal performance of the anti-narcotics agency in its renewed fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.

Marwa who stated this at the commissioning of the agency’s newly refurbished forensic laboratory in Lagos on Wednesday, said “With this facility, we are now anticipating the provision of state-of-the-art analytical equipment, which will enhance optimal performance in line with standard operational laboratory procedures and best practices, which in turn will enhance evidence-based analytical processes in our forensic analysis.”

The project was facilitated by INL and implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC.

The NDLEA boss who was represented at the event by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi emphasized the importance of modern forensic laboratories to the successful fight against illicit drugs in the country.

According to him: “Everyone who knows how pivotal a forensic laboratory is to drug investigations will share my sentiment. The forensic laboratory plays a critical role in the identification of drug exhibits, in the investigation of illicit drug manufacturing and the dismantling of clandestine laboratories. Ultimately, it reinforces the criminal justice system.

“Given the current situation of illicit drugs in Nigeria, a forensic laboratory is sine qua non for any meaningful effort to stymie the problem. The reason is obvious. In three decades, Nigeria has grown from a transit country to a country that produces a farrago of new psychoactive substances, NPS, and a place where there is proliferation of clandestine laboratories, of which we have discovered and dismantled over 23.

“Over the last three years that I have been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, there have been seizures of record quantities of illicit drugs, approximately 7, 590 tons. What is remarkable about these seizures is that they include not only substances already under national and international control but also an unexpectedly high number of new psychoactive substances and combinations of illicit drugs prepared by chemists working in clandestine laboratories. These substances, constituting over 10,000 exhibits, found their way to the forensic laboratory for confirmatory analysis and identification.
“The poor infrastructure of our forensic laboratory translated into inadequacy to cope with the volume of work on ground. It is against this backdrop that INL intervened to sponsor the upgrading of the laboratory to a global standard and expand its capacity to cope with the challenging dynamics inherent in the analysis of new psychoactive substances, amphetamine-type stimulants, synthetic cannabinoids, and fentanyl opioids.”

Marwa expressed appreciation to the US government for approving funding for the project, which encompasses: strengthening the forensic and chemical analysis capacity of NDLEA; upgrading the interrogation room and provision of an e-library for prosecution. He equally commended the UNODC for painstaking implementation of the project.

He said some other benefits of the project so far include: the training of 20 NDLEA forensic analysts on drug identification and safe handling of synthetic opioids; provision of safety bags consisting of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); supply of 20 test kits for drugs and precursor chemicals for field identification; supply of laptops, desktop computer, and other ICT accessories among others.
Speaking at the event, U.S. Consul General Will Stevens highlighted the ongoing security cooperation between the United States and Nigeria.

He said: “The global opioid crisis calls for a coordinated, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary global response. The U.S. Mission in Nigeria has partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to modernize this chemical forensic laboratory in Lagos. This $500,000 investment will ensure our Nigerian partners have the state-of-the-art equipment and training needed to identify and analyze suspicious substances and evidence collected from crime scenes and suspects. We appreciate Nigeria’s strong regional leadership and commitment to work with us to combat this growing threat.”

In his remarks, the UNODC Deputy Country Representative, Danilo Campisi, commended the partnership with the United States INL and NDLEA, which he said “continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of these types of interventions, implemented by organisations like UNODC.”

“In the course of the past 12 months of implementing the first phase of this project, which primarily consisted of the provision of technical assistance, equipment and capacity building”, he stated adding that the next phase of the project, which will be implemented over the course of the next 12 months “is an opportunity to consolidate the interventions which will commenced in the first phase and we look forward to continuing the tripartite partnership between UNODC, the US Government and NDLEA ensuring that criminal drug trafficking networks are dismantled and brought to justice.”

Newly refurbished forensic lab will enhance NDLEA’s performance – Marwa

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Troops arrest three suspected log suppliers in Kwara

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Troops arrest three suspected log suppliers in Kwara

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of Operation SAVANNAH SHIELD have arrested three suspected log suppliers in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State for alleged involvement in illegal supply activities.

Security sources said the suspects were apprehended at about 1315 hours on Wednesday by troops of Sector 1, operating from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Kaiama.

The arrest followed routine operational checks and intelligence-led patrols in the area.

The suspects were subsequently handed over to troops of 22 Brigade for further investigation and necessary action.

Military authorities said the operation forms part of ongoing efforts to curb criminal logistics networks and disrupt support structures aiding armed groups in the region.

They added that troops have continued sustained surveillance and patrols across border communities to prevent the movement of illicit materials and criminal supplies.

Troops arrest three suspected log suppliers in Kwara

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Kwibuka 32: Rwanda Sounds Alarm on Evolving Genocide Ideology, Demands Global Accountability

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Kwibuka 32: Rwanda Sounds Alarm on Evolving Genocide Ideology, Demands Global Accountability

By: Michael Mike

Rwanda has issued a powerful warning to the world as it marks the 32nd anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, cautioning that the dangerous ideologies that fueled the mass killings have not disappeared—but are mutating in more sophisticated and far-reaching ways.

Speaking at a solemn commemoration in Abuja, the Rwandan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Moses Rugema, urged the global community to move beyond ceremonial remembrance and confront the persistent and evolving threat of genocide ideology, particularly in an era shaped by digital influence and artificial intelligence.

The event, held under the theme “Remember. Unite. Renew.”, marked Kwibuka 32, an annual period of reflection on one of the darkest chapters in modern history.

He said: “Remembrance must carry responsibility. It is not enough to honour the dead—we must actively resist the forces that made such atrocities possible.”

He recalled the scale of the Genocide against the Tutsi, in which more than one million people were systematically killed within 100 days in 1994. The envoy stressed that the genocide was not a spontaneous eruption of violence, but a calculated campaign driven by propaganda, division and state-backed extremism.

Drawing a direct line between the past and present, Rugema warned that similar patterns are re-emerging globally, now amplified by technology.

“The tools may have changed, but the intent has not. Today, hate can spread faster, deeper and more dangerously through digital platforms,” he said, noting that misinformation, denial and distortion are increasingly weaponised to rewrite history and inflame divisions.

He called for stronger international legal frameworks, improved civic education and stricter accountability measures to counter what he described as a “resilient and adaptive threat.”

Rugema also revisited the failure of the international community during the 1994 crisis, stating that early warning signs were ignored and the scale of the violence was initially downplayed. At the United Nations Security Council, only a handful of voices—including Nigeria’s former envoy, Ibrahim Gambari—pressed for recognition of the atrocities as genocide.

The killings were eventually halted by forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by current President Paul Kagame, ushering in a new chapter focused on national rebuilding.

Highlighting Rwanda’s recovery, Rugema pointed to deliberate policies aimed at unity and reconciliation, including the dismantling of ethnic classifications and the use of community-based justice systems such as gacaca courts, which enabled millions of cases to be heard while fostering dialogue and healing.

Yet, he warned that the work is far from over.

“Genocide ideology is not confined to history—it is a present danger,” he said, citing ongoing instability in parts of Africa’s Great Lakes region and the growing normalization of hate speech globally.

Also addressing the gathering, the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator in
Nigeria, Mohamed Fall described the commemoration as a call to action for the international community to prevent future atrocities.

Represented by the UN Women Coordinator to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, Fall emphasised that the genocide was enabled by sustained propaganda and exclusionary policies.

“Mass atrocities do not begin with weapons—they begin with words,” Fall said. “And today, those words travel faster than ever.”

He warned that the unchecked spread of hate speech and incitement in the digital space poses a growing global risk, urging governments to strengthen legal protections, uphold international law and fully implement the Genocide Convention.

Both speakers stressed that remembrance must translate into concrete action, insisting that the phrase “Never Again” risks becoming hollow if not backed by political will and societal vigilance.

As the world reflects on Kwibuka 32, Rwanda’s message was unmistakable: the cost of indifference has already been written in blood—and failing to act now could allow history to repeat itself.

Kwibuka 32: Rwanda Sounds Alarm on Evolving Genocide Ideology, Demands Global Accountability

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NIS Cracks Down on Alleged Extortion at Lagos-Seme Border, Orders Probe

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NIS Cracks Down on Alleged Extortion at Lagos-Seme Border, Orders Probe

By: Michael Mike

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched an immediate investigation into allegations of extortion involving its personnel along the Lagos-Seme border corridor, vowing swift disciplinary action against any officer found culpable.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, strongly condemned the reported misconduct, describing it as a clear breach of the Service’s ethical standards and operational principles.

The allegations, which surfaced through online reports, have sparked public concern over the conduct of immigration officers stationed at one of Nigeria’s busiest land borders. Responding decisively, the NIS leadership has taken the unusual step of temporarily relieving the Comptrollers overseeing the affected commands of their duties pending the outcome of a comprehensive probe.

According to the Service, the investigation will focus on identifying all officers involved in the alleged acts, with a commitment to enforce strict disciplinary measures without delay.

Reaffirming its stance, the NIS stressed that it would not tolerate any behavior capable of eroding public confidence or damaging the institution’s reputation. The Service reiterated its commitment to professionalism, transparency, and efficiency in managing Nigeria’s entry and exit points.

To strengthen accountability, the Service urged members of the public to report cases of misconduct through its official communication channels, including its verified social media platforms and dedicated contact centre lines.

The NIS emphasized that it remains resolute in upholding integrity and discipline while facilitating lawful migration, assuring Nigerians and international travelers that measures are being reinforced to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

NIS Cracks Down on Alleged Extortion at Lagos-Seme Border, Orders Probe

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