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We’ll deploy our personnel to 774 LGAs in 2024, says NDLEA boss, Marwa

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Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has said that the anti-narcotics body will deploy personnel in all 774 local government areas of the country in 2024 as part of efforts to strengthen the war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking especially in local communities.

He stated this while responding to request for partnership and deployment of more NDLEA officers in all parts of Katsina by the state governor, Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda to curb the problem of drug abuse and insecurity in the state.

He said with the Agency’s staff strength expected to rise to 15,000 by the end of the year, the next “development is to deploy in the LGAs. We currently have zonal commands, state commands, and area commands.

We want to go to the LGAs for the offensive action and the advocacy work. We would need more support to succeed. I appreciate the work of the Katsina governor as the challenges are numerous in governing the state.

But if insecurity is a problem and is fueled by drugs, I believe we have to collectively take it out of the security equation.” He commended Governor Radda for his efforts to surmount the various challenges faced and enhance the socio-economic development of the state.

According to him, “The drug menace is a huge issue and has destroyed the lives of our youths and communities. It is the public enemy number one, and especially the criminal aspect of it. 99% of the criminals must first have access to drugs and be under the influence to perpetrate some of their acts.

That is why the NDLEA under the collective support of the directorates and the management has put all efforts towards operation ‘offensive action.’

This involves going out to seize all drugs cultivated, imported or on the verge of being exported out of the country. Over 6,668 tons of illicit substances have been seized in two years, and we assure that we will continue relentlessly until the streets are clean of drugs.

This is the drug supply reduction aspect, where we arrest the perpetrators of the act, and over 36,096 suspects have been arrested and more than 6,043 already prosecuted and convicted within this period.”

He said the other side of the fight is drug demand reduction, which focuses on prevention, treatment and aftercare of drug dependent persons. “The preventive measure faces those who have not started or are about starting drug use. They are targeted through advocacy and sensitisation across all levels.

It is for this reason we structured the WADA initiative from the National to LGA levels. We appeal to the government to have a state drug control committee of which the NDLEA will be the secretary and the chairperson would be the First Lady of the state. The first ladies are in the strategic position, because they are the mothers and have the best interest of the government at heart.

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Police probe video of officer in altercation with elderly woman in Lagos

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The Lagos police command says it has launched an investigation into a viral video of an officer involved in an altercation with an elderly woman.

POLICE COMMENCE INVESTIGATION INTO VIDEO OF POLICE OFFICER IN ALTERCATION WITH ELDERLY WOMAN

On Sunday, a video showing a police officer manhandling an elderly woman in her car began circulating on social media.

The officer was said to have demanded N250,000 from the woman which she refused to pay, before the altercation began.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned the action of the officer, noting that the inspector and his supervising deputy superintendent have been brought in for questioning.

Hundeyin said the incident took place in the Alagbado area of Lagos in the first week of September.

He assured the public that the investigation would be “swift, thorough and conclusive”.

“The command condemns the unprofessional conduct of the Inspector as it does not represent the ethics and operational standards of the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement reads.

“The command equally assures Lagosians that the investigation will be swift, thorough and conclusive.

“We will ensure that the officers are disciplined as appropriate, and members of the public are updated accordingly.”

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EFCC besieged Kogi lodge to forcefully arrest Yahaya Bello, says his media office

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The media office of Yahaya Bello has alleged that on Wednesday night, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja, in a bid to forcefully arrest the former governor.

The claim comes hours after Bello’s media office said the ex-governor had honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation.

The EFCC had immediately denied that Bello was in its custody, restating that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain was still a wanted man.

However, Bello’s media office responded by saying the politician was not interrogated when he visited the EFCC office and was turned back.

“He was accompanied to the commission’s office by Gov Usman Ododo,” the media team had said.

‘THEY SHOT SPORADICALLY’

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Ohiare Michael, director of the Yahaya Bello Media Office, said the operatives shot sporadically during the raid.

“It has come to our notice that people suspected to be operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, are currently around the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to forcefully arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello,” the statement reads.

“They were shooting sporadically.

“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC Office voluntarily, but the commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount an attack on the Kogi Government facility in Asokoro.

“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him.

“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former Governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation.

“The EFCC had no question to ask Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him.

“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they are fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption.

“This action reflects much more than a fight against corruption. We will keep Nigerians posted.”

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Geological agency asks residents not to panic as earth tremors rock Abuja

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The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) says there is no need for residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) to panic over recent earth tremors.

Residents of Mpape and Katampe communities in the FCT recently expressed fears following earth tremors that reportedly began on Saturday.

An earth tremor is a relatively small or short-lived movement of the earth’s surface. It is caused by the same forces that produce earthquakes.

In a statement on Wednesday, Olusegun Ige, NGSA director-general, said the agency monitored the tremors and found them to be low.

He added that the tremors do not pose any threats.

“The Monitoring Station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the past five days, beginning from September 13, 2024 till date,” the statement reads.

“Only one mild event was recorded on September 13th. Six of these events were captured on the 14th of September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities.

“More than twenty events were recorded on the 16th of September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to 16th September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September.

“Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than 5 km away from the monitoring station.

“NGSA team also visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessments of the events. From the accounts of the residents of the affected areas, the observations by the NGSA team, and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, the following conclusions were made:

“The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have traveled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT.

“There are multiple epicenters associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicenters are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the Station around Katampe axis.

“The intensities of the tremors are weak to light, ranging from III – IV on the Modified Mercalli Scale, and pose a very low level threat.”

The agency added that it is closely monitoring the situation.

“The residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and other areas where the tremors were felt are advised not to panic as the tremors can be generally described as low,” the statement adds.

“The Agency is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary.

“The general public should also be aware that the NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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