Crime
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.
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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
Crime
Iran-bound businessman ingest 53 wraps of cocaine at Port Harcourt airport

Iran-bound businessman ingest 53 wraps of cocaine at Port Harcourt airport
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) another businessman, 44-year-old Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine while on his way to Tehran Khomeini, Islamic Republic of Iran.
This is barely two weeks after a 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Okigbo heading to Iran with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach was caught at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

The spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said Ezemokwe was arrested at the Port Harcourt airport on Saturday 7th June while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 flying to Tehran Khomeini in Iran via Doha. After a body scan proved positive to ingestion of illicit drug, he was placed on excretion observation during which he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions with a total weight of 1.172 kilogrammes.
He said the suspect claimed to have gone into the criminal trade two years ago, moving between the West African sub-region and Iran.

He disclosed that similarly NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos in the early hours of Saturday intercepted an Italy bound passenger Edobor Ali on an Air France flight.
He noted that the NDLEA officers in collaboration with the Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), discovered drug consignments hidden in the luggage of the suspect during baggage scanning at the tarmac.
He said the suspect was thereafter brought down from the aircraft for baggage identification after which a thorough search of the bag led to the discovery of 14,410 pills of tramadol 225mg and 200mg concealed in winter jackets.
In his statement, Ebodor said he lives in Italy where he was hired and sent on the all expense paid trip to Nigeria to courier the drug consignments to Milan, Italy for a fee of 2000 Euros.
Babafemi said at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne, Rivers state, NDLEA operatives last Friday intercepted a shipment of 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth over N1.1 billion in street value, during a joint examination of a watch-listed container with men of Customs Service and other security agencies. The opioid consignments were hidden behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares.

He said at least, three suspects: Friday Achibong, 47; Abraham Anthony, 21; and Utibe Okon, 24, were arrested last Thursday 12th June when NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani local government area, Cross River state, where a total of 2,687 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis, was recovered.
He added that same day in Bauchi state, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence, arrested the duo of Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, along Bauchi -Jos road after 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287 kilogrammes were discovered in their Toyota Camry car marked AKL 201 GG.
He said while 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560 kilogrammes were recovered from a wooden boat at Oniru beach in Lagos by operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA last Thursday, officers of the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport Maiduguri same day arrested two businessmen: Ishaku Abdullahi, 30; and Buba Usman, 32, at the arrival hall of the domestic wing of the airport with various quantities of ecstacy pills and skunk packaged in fanciful wraps labelled as ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’
Babafemi 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 MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, PHPC, Marine, Cross River, and Bauchi commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, praised their compatriots in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Iran-bound businessman ingest 53 wraps of cocaine at Port Harcourt airport
Crime
Man arrested for allegedly killing mother in Gungul, Benue

Man arrested for allegedly killing mother in Gungul, Benue
By: Zagazola Makama
A man, identified as Torngusha Usuwe, has been arrested in Gungul Village, Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State for allegedly killing his mother after hitting her with a stick.
Zagazola learnt that the incident occurred on Tuesday at about 2:30 p.m., when the suspect allegedly struck his mother on the left jaw during a domestic altercation, causing a severe fracture.
The victim, who began bleeding from her mouth and ear, was rushed to Zege Nyion Clinic in Gungul for urgent medical attention but was confirmed dead around 8:00 p.m. the same day.
Following a report by Terwase Usuwe, a relative of the deceased, detectives were immediately deployed to the scene. Photographs were taken, and the body was evacuated and deposited at the Gungul Memory Integrated Morgue for autopsy.
The suspect, Torngusha Usuwe, has been taken into custody, and investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Man arrested for allegedly killing mother in Gungul, Benue
Crime
Man stabbed to death over girlfriend in Minna

Man stabbed to death over girlfriend in Minna
By: Zagazola Makama
A 25-year-old man, Usman Mohammed, has died after being stabbed during a confrontation over his girlfriend in the Barikin-Sale area of Minna, Niger State.
Zagazola Makama learnt that the incident occurred late on Monday night when Usman went to visit his girlfriend, Halima Usman, at Deeper Life Upper Base in Barikin-Sale.
While they were seated outside chatting, three young men identified as Barafi, Ayya, and another yet to be identified approached them and allegedly attempted to woo Halima.
According to eyewitnesses, the men offered Halima ₦5,000 to go out with them, which she declined. The situation escalated when the men became violent, leading to one of them stabbing Usman in the back with a dagger.
Usman was rushed to the General Hospital in Minna, where he was admitted for treatment. However, he died from his injuries in the early hours of Tuesday at about 2:30 a.m.
One of the suspects, identified as Ahmed Mohammed, has reportedly been apprehended, while efforts are ongoing to locate the other two individuals believed to be involved in the attack.
Police officers visited the scene and took photographs of the deceased before depositing the corpse at the hospital mortuary for autopsy.
One of the suspects, Ahmed Mohammed, has been arrested, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining culprits currently at large.
Investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Man stabbed to death over girlfriend in Minna
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