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The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), has advocated mandatory drug screening for intending couples.

Marwa made the call on Tuesday at the launch of the Campaign Against Drug Abuse and the signing of Executive Orders establishing the Jigawa State Task Force on Drug Abuse Control and Mass Mobilisation for Social Reorientation at the Government House, Dutse.

He said the screening should become as important as HIV and genotype tests before marriage.

According to him, many marriages are disrupted shortly before wedding ceremonies after one of the intending couples is found to be abusing illicit drugs, a situation he described as avoidable through early screening.

“Today, when our children are preparing for marriage, families routinely request HIV test results and genotype compatibility tests. Why shouldn’t we also request a drug-free certificate? This should apply to both the bride and the groom,” he said.

The NDLEA boss noted that no parent would willingly give out a daughter in marriage to a known drug addict, stressing that drug screening before marriage would help families make informed decisions and protect homes from the devastating effects of substance abuse.

He urged the Jigawa State Government to consider adopting the initiative as part of its strategy to combat drug abuse, adding that the campaign had continued to gain acceptance in different parts of the country.

Marwa disclosed that the NDLEA handles cases almost daily involving marriages cancelled just days before the wedding because one of the intending couples tested positive for illicit drug use.

He reiterated that drug abuse remains a major threat to families, communities, and national development, calling on parents, religious leaders, traditional institutions, and civil society organisations to support efforts aimed at preventing substance abuse among young people.

The NDLEA Chairman commended Governor Umar Namadi for establishing the Jigawa State Task Force on Drug Abuse Control, describing the initiative as a proactive step that other states should emulate in the fight against illicit drug use.

Commenting after the signing of the two executive orders, Governor Namadi urged members of the newly inaugurated task forces to discharge their responsibilities with integrity, dedication, and patience.

He described the fight against drug abuse and societal reorientation as long-term assignments requiring sustained commitment rather than short-term interventions.

Governor Namadi commended NDLEA Chairman Marwa for the agency’s continued partnership with the state and praised the Jigawa State Command of the NDLEA for its operational achievements, including the seizure of nearly 2,000 kilograms of illicit drugs worth over N2.8 billion and securing 136 convictions.

He appealed to the NDLEA leadership to provide additional operational support to the Jigawa Command to ensure the effective implementation of the newly signed Executive Orders.

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The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has threatened to sue the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, over what it called defamatory claims.

In a statement by Acting Director, Department of Development Control, Bashir Madaki Sunusi, the FCTA asked AEDC to withdraw the allegations and apologize or face legal action.

It rejected AEDC’s claim that its officials unlawfully encroached on the C2 Maitama Substation, describing it as false and an attempt to undermine officials carrying out their duties.

According to the FCTA, the visit followed a complaint by a lawful land allottee with a valid Certificate of Occupancy who alleged his property access was blocked.

It said the team, accompanied by surveyors, carried out boundary verification and beacon identification to determine whether there had been any encroachment, insisting that no electricity infrastructure was tampered with and that power supply remained uninterrupted after the exercise.

It further alleged that AEDC invited its officials to a meeting after the inspection but failed to honour the appointment, despite the team waiting for several hours.

It accused the electricity distribution company of attempting to intimidate and blackmail its personnel through a defamatory public statement, maintaining that it would continue to enforce development control regulations without fear or favour.

The FCTA demanded that AEDC immediately withdraw the publication from all platforms and issue an unreserved public apology to the Department and the affected officials.

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A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has offered fresh revelations regarding the death of former military ruler General Sani Abacha, alleging in his newly published memoir that the late head of state died during an intimate encounter with his girlfriend’s younger sister.

Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 1993 until his sudden demise in June 1998, has long been the subject of intense speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding his death.

Writing in his new book, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, Amachree—who served as the Assistant Director of Operations and Intelligence at the Lagos DSS Command at the time—recounted that Abacha passed away around 4:05 a.m. at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while in the company of a woman.

According to the retired intelligence officer, the lady fled Aso Rock shortly after realizing the military dictator was unresponsive, eventually boarding an early morning flight to Lagos.

Amachree noted that she and her elder sister—who was Abacha’s girlfriend—had visited the villa together earlier that night, before the older sister left her younger sibling alone with Abacha.

“At approximately 2.40 a.m., shortly after Gen. Useni left, Abacha’s girlfriend, an Igbo lady (name withheld), arrived at the Aso Rock Guest House from the Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel,” the book states.

“With her was her younger sister, a pharmacist who was in Abuja for a conference. The Head of State had just bought his girlfriend a new SUV, and they decided to stop by to say hello to ‘Oga’.”

“Abacha was taken with the younger sister, and after a short while, the girlfriend returned to the hotel, leaving the pharmacist alone with the Head of State.”

“At about 4.05 a.m., as they were getting intimate, the pharmacist realised Abacha had stopped moving. She called out to him, but he was unresponsive and stiff. She checked his pulse; there was none.”

Amachree stated that the panicked woman hurriedly got dressed and informed the security guard on duty that the Head of State had directed that a vehicle transport her back to her hotel.

“The soldier, unaware of the gravity of the situation, promptly arranged for her transportation. She returned to the Hilton, and after telling her sister what had happened, was quickly driven to the Abuja Airport to catch the 7 a.m. Okada Airline flight to Lagos,” the book added.

Amachree explained that by the time Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, was alerted around 5:00 a.m., the woman had already left Abuja. Although security operatives moved to arrest the older sister at the Hilton Hotel, the younger sister was already en route to Lagos.

Following instructions from the Director of Operations at the DSS national headquarters, Amachree led the team that tracked down and interrogated the pharmacist in Ogudu, Lagos.

“My team located and brought her to my office. I interrogated her myself,” Amachree wrote.

“The first thing she said to me was: ‘I did not kill him, he died on top of me.’ After her detailed account, I called the Director in Abuja, and she was immediately flown back.”

“The lady pharmacist’s account, on whom Abacha apparently had a coitus-induced cardiac arrest, remains the true position, and puts an end to the conspiracy theories and half-truths that have gone viral.”

Amachree maintained that the lady’s account directly disproves lingering conspiracy theories about Abacha’s death, including rumors of poisoned apples or imported foreign women.

General Abacha died on June 8, 1998, just weeks before the death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who died in government custody.