Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says officers of the agency arrested some politicians in possession of illicit drugs.
Marwa said this on Sunday when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘Hard Copy’.
The chairman said he was “somewhat disappointed” that the drive to have public officers undergo drug-tests before they assume office did not go through.
“But the idea is not original. We are promoting what is going on already in Kano state. In kano state, all politicians under the governor’s party, aspiring for an office, must first demonstrate in the screening process that they are drug negative and I’m in full support of that,” he said.
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“We have arrested politicians who either are holding political office or have retired. Recently one of them was jailed in Lagos, he was trying to smuggle 1kg, maybe to use it to run for office.
“As you know, the cartels also participate in political institutions, they actually fund candidates into the various levels so that the correct laws (that favour them) are enacted.”
Speaking on the rehabilitation of drug users, the NDLEA chief said there is a dearth of rehab centres “and there are thousands if not millions of drug users who need help but there’s no where to go. And so they snuck back into their bedrooms and continue to take drugs”.
“Right now we have just 11 model rehab centres in the country which is very low. The Presidential Advisory Committee on Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA) recommended that there should be about three centres per state looking at the prevalence and the federal government already through the ministry of health, has agreed to build one more rehab centre in every state,” he said.
THE CABLE
Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina
Barely one week after Nigerian Army lost two captains and four other soldiers in a deadly ambush in Niger State, another officer has lost his life to bandits’ attacks in Katsina State.
According to a report by security analyst and counter insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, on Friday, Major AG Mohammed, died while confronting bandits.
“The news of the demise of Major Ag Mohammed of 17 brigade Katsina state, Operation Hadarin DAJI, is indeed heart wrenching.
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” Mohammed paid the supreme price while combating bandits in the North West of Katsina State. Until his death he serves as the command Covering yantumaki,Dan Ali and Kankara Axis. He was one of the most gallant, courageous and highly dedicated officers.
Nigeria has lost many gallant officers and soldiers to the bullets of Boko Haram (BH) insurgents, banditry, and other insecurities.
We therefore acknowledge with respect the services of our heroes—some of whom we admire for their courage, and outstanding achievements coupled with noble qualities that have laid down their lives for us to live,” the security expert said in a post on X handle.
Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms
Eleven members of a suspected cult group who allegedly terrorised the inhabitants of the Ihembosi community in Anambra State’s Ekwusigo Local Government Area have been apprehended by Zone 13 Police Headquarters operatives in Ukpo.
The defendants were arrested for allegedly trespassing on Las Vegas Hotels Limited’s premises in Ubahu village.
About 12 more members of the group are believed to be on the run as authorities continue to pursue them.
According to a police source who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the agency, the suspects were arrested on Monday in response to a strongly worded petition to Godwin Aghaulor, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 13 Police Command. The Zone 13 Police Command oversees police forces in Anambra, Enugu, and parts of Ebonyi states.
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Aghaulor, who verified the suspects’ arrests at his office on Thursday, stated that the police will conduct discreet investigations into the case to determine the intentions behind the action, while a manhunt has been begun to apprehend the fleeing criminals.
Chief Omenife Onwuatu, the proprietor of Las Vegas Hotels Limited, petitioned the AIG for his intervention to curb the menace of the cultist group, which he claimed invaded his hotel on March 10, 2024, with about 12 motorcycles, charms, cudgels, cutlasses, axes, and other dangerous weapons and terrorised the hotel’s owners, management, and staff, threatening to kill anyone in sight.
Onwuatu, who is also the Chairman of Ubahu village, had previously warned the group to stop performing rituals in front of the nearby stream and to relocate their shrine to its base, but his warning did not go down well with the suspects, whom he simply identified as “idol worshippers, who earn their living through rituals.”
Third Mainland Bridge: Contractors set to return for resurfacing, solar power installation
Motorists and commuters using the busy Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos need to gear up for another round of inconvenience as the Federal Government says the final phase of its rehabilitation is set to commence.
Already, the government has directed contractors handling the repair work on to return for the beautification project and installation of solar power on the bridge.
It said it would also involve resurfacing work from Adeniji inward Falomo, to restore the integrity and aesthetics of the bridge.
The Federal Controller of Works in the State, Mrs Olukorede Keisha, made this known at a news briefing on Thursday in Lagos.
The bridge was recently reopened fully after undergoing over three months of rehabilitation in the phase one of the project
Keisha said specifically that the work would involve laying new asphalt, repainting lane markings, adding missing lines, and installing solar lights.
According to her, the latest project is an extension of the original plan and the contractor would just continue where it left off.
She said that the exact dates for the renewed construction would be announced soon.
She said, “President Bola Tinubu has graciously asked us to continue the resurfacing from where we stopped on the Third Mainland bridge. So we’re continuing any moment from now.
“So any moment from now we are going to see the contractor back in site extending beyond Adeniji inward Falomo. We’re going to do the same thing just like we did on the Third Mainland Bridge.
“We know that motorists are major stakeholders. So we do not want to do this without getting across to them, that’s why we’re doing this press conference so that it will not come as a surprise to us.”
Keisha said that the contractor had been told to mobilise immediately.
She said that the project aimed to improve not only the bridge’s structural integrity but also its overall appearance.
Keisha said that a traffic management plan was being developed to minimise disruption for motorists.
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