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UNODC and NDLEA partner to sensitize the Nigerian Governors Wives on Drug Use, Treatment, Prevention and Care

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UNODC and NDLEA partner to sensitize the Nigerian Governors Wives on Drug Use, Treatment, Prevention and Care

UNODC and NDLEA partner to sensitize the Nigerian Governors Wives on Drug Use, Treatment, Prevention and Care

By: Our Reporter

In 2019, with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Nigeria officially launched its first ever comprehensive national survey on drug use and health – Drug Use in Nigeria 2018. 

The survey revealed that Nigeria has over 14.3 million people who use drugs and 1 in 4 of these populations is a woman or girl. Even more alarming is the data that indicates that only 1 in 20 people in treatment for using drugs, is a woman. 

Whilst there is a generally acknowledged dearth of drug treatment services in Nigeria, the gap is even more disproportionate for female drug users who for a myriad reason are unable to access treatment as easily as their male counterparts. This is further buttressed by the findings of the World Drug Report 2022.

It is therefore no surprise that members of the Nigerian Governors Wives Forum are at the forefront of advocating for improved access to drug prevention and treatment services in Nigeria. 

After all, it was on the initiative of the First Lady of Nigeria, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, that the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA) was first established in 2018 – recommended a series of targeted interventions for elimination of drug abuse in Nigeria. 

The active advocacy of the First Lady of Kebbi State Nigeria, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, led to the establishment of a community-based drug treatment center as well as introduction of UNPLUGGED – a school-based drug prevention programme in State-owned Secondary Schools in Kebbi. 

As a great step forward, the Nigeria Governors Wives Forum led by the First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi adopted drug abuse as a flagship project “to address the alarming problem of drug abuse in our communities.”

Encouraged by the active advocacy by the Governors Wives Forum, NDLEA and the UNODC within the context of the EU-funded Project “Response to Drugs and Related Organised Crime in Nigeria” partnered to sensitize the Forum on critical issues related to drug use, prevention, treatment and care.

The 2-day sensitisation event, organized in conjunction with World Drug Day, held on 28 and 29 June 2022, had in attendance, the wife of the Vice President of Nigeria, H.E Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo as Special Guest of Honour as well as the First Ladies of  Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara, Ogun, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, and Yobe States, and the representatives of all other States. 

Other participants included, the senior management of the NDLEA led by the Chairman/Chief Executive Brig Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), the UNODC Country Office Team led by the Country Representative Dr Oliver Stolpe, and representative of the European Union Delegation (EUD) to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Eleni Zerzelidou.

Also Read: Buhari tasks Nigerians abroad on responsible social media…

Speaking during the event, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa urged the Forum to spearhead the establishment of State Drug Control Committees (SDCCs) in their respective States to facilitate the implementation of drug control responses at all levels of government and society.

H.E Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, Wife of the Vice President of Nigeria, remarked that the sensitization exercise will enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in implementing appropriate drug control interventions in health and humanitarian crises, which is also the theme for this year’s World Drug Day. 

Also Read: Buhari tasks Nigerians abroad on responsible social media…

She emphasized that we “all need to contribute our quota to the national drug control efforts.”

The UNODC Country Representative, Oliver Stolpe urged the Governors Wives not to lose sight of the public health crisis caused by drug use, noting that what is being invested right now is nowhere near sufficient to cater for the needs of millions of persons living with a drug use dependency. 

He therefore solicited their support for the implementation of UNPLUGGED across the 27,000 public and private secondary schools in the country as well as providing access to quality drug treatment to the millions of persons, in particular women and girls, living with a drug use disorder by: (i) creating drug treatment facilities in all states, (ii) establishing drop-in centers across all LGAs, and (iii) equipping  primary health care providers with basic drug treatment, counselling and referral skills. 

The EUD representative, Ms. Zerzelidou, noted that the Governors Wives, with their influence, can pave the way for more initiatives on drug demand reduction.

The two-day proceeding exposed Governors Wives to core sensitization modules on drug prevention, treatment and care (DPTC), along with several drug prevention and treatment initiatives being implemented under the “Response to Drugs and Related Organized Crime in Nigeria”, including  sport based prevention programme – Line up Live Up (LULU), Strengthening the Family Programme(SFP), and UNPLUGGED, the latter being implemented in all 104 unity secondary schools run by the Federal Government, as well as in Bayelsa and Kebbi states. 

The UNPLUGGED programme is also being implemented in selected schools in Oyo, Rivers and Kano States in partnership with the MTN Foundation through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intervention – the Anti Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP).

At the end of the event, the Forum adopted a communique outlining the actions the First Ladies will take to strengthen drug prevention, treatment and care in their respective states.

UNODC and NDLEA partner to sensitize the Nigerian Governors Wives on Drug Use, Treatment, Prevention and Care

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Bandits kill driver, abduct five passengers on Bagaga-Anka road

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Bandits kill driver, abduct five passengers on Bagaga-Anka road

By: Zagazola Makama

Armed bandits attacked a Golf vehicle on the Bagaga-Anka road in Zamfara State on April 26, 2025, killing the driver and abducting five passengers.

Sources told Zagazola Makama that the attack occurred at about 11:40 a.m. when the bandits blocked the road, shot dead the driver, and abducted the five passengers traveling in the vehicle.

Upon receiving the distress report, joint security forces were swiftly mobilized and dispatched to the scene. The injured driver was taken to Bagega Primary Healthcare for treatment.

Efforts to rescue the abducted victims are ongoing, with security agencies intensifying their search for the perpetrators.

Bandits kill driver, abduct five passengers on Bagaga-Anka road

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Crime

Police rescue 68 trafficking victims, arrest 16 suspects in Oyo State

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Police rescue 68 trafficking victims, arrest 16 suspects in Oyo State

By: Zagazola Makama

Police in Oyo State have rescued 68 victims of human trafficking and arrested 16 suspects, including 10 males and 6 females, following a raid on a hideout in Kajorepo community, Agabala Daniel Area.

Sources reliably informed Zagazola Makama that the operation, carried out on April 26, 2025, was based on credible intelligence from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the State Intelligence Division (SID).

The rescued victims include 47 males, 20 females, and one child. They were found locked in a building where they were reportedly being held with the intent to be trafficked.

The suspects were taken into custody for interrogation, while the victims were provided with care and assistance. The building was sealed off, and patrol teams have been deployed to prevent any attempts by an angry mob to destroy the property.

The sources added that further investigations are ongoing to dismantle the trafficking network.

Police rescue 68 trafficking victims, arrest 16 suspects in Oyo State

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Crime

Police smash kidnapping syndicate terrorising Taraba, neighbouring states

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Police smash kidnapping syndicate terrorising Taraba, neighbouring states

By: Zagazola Makama

The Taraba State Police Command, in collaboration with operatives of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) of the Force Headquarters Abuja, has arrested members of a notorious kidnap and banditry syndicate responsible for terrorising communities across Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, Bauchi, and Kaduna States.

Security sources told Zagazola
Makama that the breakthrough, according to the Command, was achieved following credible intelligence that was processed into actionable operations, leading to the arrest of key gang members on April 25.

The sources said that the operatives, working in conjunction with a local vigilante group, apprehended three suspects at about 10:00 a.m.

Those arrested were identified as Shehu Ibrahim, 27, of Larai Gada, Ilorin; Abdullahi Haruna, 28, of Angwan Karofi, Bauchi; and Yusuf Bello, 40, of Birama Village, Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State.

“Upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to their involvement in multiple kidnapping operations across the affected states,” the spokesperson said.

Items recovered from them include one AK-47 rifle, two AK-49 rifles, six AK magazines, and 45 live rounds of ammunition.

The police sources noted that the recent arrests follow earlier operations that led to the capture of other members of the same criminal gang.

Those earlier apprehended include Suleiman Mohammed, 28, of Lariski, Gombe State; Tijjani Bello, 30, of Nasarawo, Jalingo; Muhammed Umar, 25, of Sabon Gari, Jalingo; Adamu Ibrahim, 22, of Mutum Daya, Karim Lamido; Solomon Nathaniel, 32, of Logo, Benue State; and Haruna Adamu, 25, of Lushi Village, Lau, Taraba State.

From these earlier arrests, the police recovered three AK-47 rifles, one AK-49 rifle, and four AK-47 magazines.

He said that three suspects have confessed to several heinous crimes, including kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery, and attacks on rural communities.

He added that investigations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the syndicate and dismantle the network completely.

Police smash kidnapping syndicate terrorising Taraba, neighbouring states

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