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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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Scores of ISWAP Terrorists Killed in Devastating NAF Airstrikes in Borno

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Scores of ISWAP Terrorists Killed in Devastating NAF Airstrikes in Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), under Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), has carried out a successful air interdiction, neutralizing scores of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and destroying their logistics hub in Arina, Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.

Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the air operation, which took place on March 9, 2025, at about 0600 hours, was executed based on credible human intelligence (HUMINT) and confirmatory intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

The sources intelligence revealed suspicious movements and a large gathering of terrorists at the location, prompting the coordinated air strikes.

According to the sources , the air strikes targeted terrorist logistics, structures, and fighters, dealing a significant blow to their operational capabilities.

“The precision airstrikes effectively neutralized many ISWAP fighters and disrupted their logistics chain in the area. The operation further weakens the group’s ability to launch attacks on civilian and military targets,” the source stated.

Scores of ISWAP Terrorists Killed in Devastating NAF Airstrikes in Borno

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Buni Approves Employment of 267 Health Technicians in Yobe

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Buni Approves Employment of 267 Health Technicians in Yobe

By: Michael Mike

Yobe State Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni has approved the employment of 267 health technicians to boost manpower requirements in health facilities across the state.

According to a statement on Monday by the spokesman to the governor, Mallam Mamman Mohammed, the employment covers 140 Buni Scholars who recently graduated in various fields of medical sciences in India.

Mohammed said the Buni Scholars include 43 Bsc Nursing, 43 Bsc Pharmacy, 22 Bsc Medical Laboratory Science, 24 Bsc Radiology, 7 Bsc Optometry and 1 Bsc Public Health graduates.

The spokesman said the governor had similarly approved the employment of 127 health technician currently serving as volunteers in health institutions across the state.

He said the governor directed the employment of the medical technicians who graduated earlier but were not formally employed but had been serving as volunteers in the medical centers.

According to him, the Buni Scholars are placed on CONHESS 8, while the volunteer technicians were placed on CONHESS 6/2.

The Buni administration had in the last five years consistently offered automatic employment to graduates of the state-owned Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery to improve personnel in the medical facilities.

It could be recalled that, the Buni administration established primary healthcare centres in the political wards of the state to bring healthcare delivery to the doorstep of the people.

Similarly, the government upgraded the four General Hospitals in Gashua, Potiskum, Geidam and Buni Yadi to Specialist hospitals, and eight Primary health centers to General hospitals while, the State Teaching hospital was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to make Healthcare delivery accessible and affordable across the state.

Buni Approves Employment of 267 Health Technicians in Yobe

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Troops Neutralize Bandit Leader ‘Yellow Aboki’ in Zamfara

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Troops Neutralize Bandit Leader ‘Yellow Aboki’ in Zamfara

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops conducting clearance operations in Zamfara State have neutralized a notorious bandit leader known as ‘Yellow Aboki’, a close ally of the late terror kingpin, Hassan Bamamu.

Security sources revealed to Zagazola Makama that Yellow Aboki was eliminated in a recent encounter with the troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA in the North West of Tsafe LGA.

His demise comes a weeks after the military’s successful operation that led to the elimination of Hassan Dantawaye also known as Bamamu, a feared bandit commander who was one of his closest associate.

It was gathered that Yellow Aboki had been consolidating his control over criminal activities in Zamfara following the death of Hassan Nabamamu .

He was believed to have been operating within the areas of Bamamu, Dan Mali, Agamalafiya, and Makera, where he coordinated violent attacks and kidnappings.

The Military sustained its crackdown on bandit kingpins in identified enclaves in Zamfara, Sokoto and other troubled areas in the North West.

The sustained pressure has diminished the capacity pf the bandits to confront the troops instead, they had resorted to pockets of attacks within vulnerable communities with less security coverage.

Troops Neutralize Bandit Leader ‘Yellow Aboki’ in Zamfara

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