News
NDLEA decries high rate of drug abuse in A’Ibom
- /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1729512595.jpeg&description=NDLEA decries high rate of drug abuse in A’Ibom', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1729512595.jpeg&description=NDLEA decries high rate of drug abuse in A’Ibom', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
By Francesca Hangeior
The Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Akwa Ibom, Mrs Obot Bassey, has decried the high rate of drug abuse in the state.
Bassey gave the remarks during the 2025 Feast of Barracuda in Eket on Monday, with the theme: ‘High cost of getting high: Unmasking the real price of drug abuse’.
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS), also known as Pyrates Confraternity, Atlantic Shores Deck, Eket chapter, sponsored the event.
Bassey, represented by Mr Ojukwu Obidi, the Area Commander, Eket command, said that the level of drug abuse in the state was alarming.
“In Akwa Ibom alone, the rate of drug abuse is very high.
“Nowhere I have been to, that I have seen the number of mentally challenged people that I can compare to what I have seen in Akwa Ibom.
“Drug abuse is alarming in Akwa Ibom because some indigenes have normalised the usage, they see it as nothing, they see it as a way of promoting the economy and sustaining themselves,” Bassey said.
She lamented that young adults took a substance popularly known as ‘combine’, adding that combine was made up of Marijuana and alcohol, which could lead to mental health challenges.
“If you go to social gatherings in Akwa Ibom, hardly you will not see young adults taking ‘combine’ and you know that their genetics are different, which leads many of them suffer from mental breakdown,” she said.
The State Commander said that NDLEA had seized over 804 kg of hard drugs in 2025 alone and convicted 38 people who are currently serving their sentences.
“This year alone, we have arrested 312 suspects in Akwa Ibom. If you look at the people we have arrested already, the cost to their families and communities are very high,” she said.
According to her, violent crimes are increasing, such as kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery, due to drug abuse.
Bassey appealed to the association to assist the agency in logistics to carry out their mandate effectively.
She said that part of the agency’s weekly programmes was embarking on sensitisation to disabuse the minds of people of drug abuse in the state.
Bassey also expressed dissatisfaction that the country is losing its young ones to drugs.
She thanked the association and NDLEA for the drug advocacy to reduce the national crisis being faced in the country due to drug abuse.
In his welcome speech, Idongesit Ifon, the President of NAS, Pyrates Confraternity Atlantic Shores Deck, Eket, said any member caught peddling or using drugs would be expelled.
“My members do not get involve in drugs, anyone that is caught, would be expelled from the association,” Ifon said.
The President said this year’s theme was not only timely but urgent.
Ifon said the country and communities were witnessing the corrosive effects of drug abuse from shattered lives and broken families to rising crime, poor mental health and weakened institutions.
“It is a growing menace that demands collective awareness and deliberate, strategic intervention,” he said.
He said that the fish barracuda was a feared predator, swift, cunning and destructive, adding that it lurks beneath the surface, striking at will and making the waters unsafe.
“But when the barracuda is caught, when it is subdued. It is a moment of triumph and celebration because peace returns to the waters,” Ifon said.
Ifon, while speaking on the feast of barracuda, said that it had come to symbolise all the ills, injustices and forces of oppression that threaten the attainment of a just and egalitarian society.
He urged the people to engage fully, listening, learning, asking questions, and challenging, as the battle against drug abuse requires all hands to be on deck.
“Let the feast mark a turning point in our shared fight to protect the vulnerable, uplift our youth and restore dignity to our society,” he said.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Suspected bandits have kidnapped retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, former Director of Defence Information, and his wife on Matazu Road in Katsina State.
Security sources told PRNigeria that the couple was ambushed on Saturday morning, May 30, 2026, while travelling in a red Peugeot 504 saloon car.
The gunmen intercepted the vehicle and whisked the retired officer and his wife to an unknown location.
The driver escaped with gunshot wounds and is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, a security source said.
The former DDI and his wife were waylaid by armed men on the route. The driver escaped with gunshot injuries and is receiving medical attention,” the source stated.
Security forces have launched search-and-rescue operations and deployed intelligence assets to track the abductors, according to the source. Official confirmation from the military was still pending at press time.
—Rising concern in Katsina—
The abduction comes amid persistent insecurity in parts of Katsina despite ongoing military operations against bandit groups in the North-West.
In recent years, several serving and retired security personnel have been targeted on highways linking Katsina to neighbouring states. PRNigeria reports that criminal groups now see high-profile individuals, including retired military officers, as lucrative targets.
Maj-Gen Abubakar served as Director of Defence Information and was one of the Nigerian military’s most visible spokespersons during the counterinsurgency campaign against Boko Haram.
The incident is expected to renew calls for stronger security along major highways and rural communities in Katsina, where residents continue to face kidnapping and banditry.
Credit :PRNigeria
Abia State Police Command has nabbed two suspects for conspiracy, attempted child theft and possession of hard drugs.
The Command which made this known on Saturday, named the suspects as Nzubechi Chinagorom and Chinonso Chibundu, indigenes of Olokoro, Umuahia South LGA of the Abia State.
In a statement signed by DSP Maureen Chinaka, the Police Public Relations Officer, the Command said its officers apprehended the suspects through actionable intelligence, in collaboration with Olokoro vigilante personnel.
She stated that the suspects went to the residence of one Miss Amarachi Chinyereugo and attempted to forcibly take away her two-week-old baby girl.
DSP Chinaka said that the Nzubechi Chinagorom allegedly stabbed the nursing mother with a kitchen knife during a struggle, causing the baby to fall and hit her head on ground.
The police spokesperson said that the two suspects fled from the scene and ran into a nearby bush on realizing that the nursing mother, Miss Amarachi Chinyereugo cried out for help.
She added that the suspects were later apprehended at a bus stop
where they had reportedly gone to take hard drugs.
“The mother and child were immediately rushed to the hospital, where they received treatment and have since recovered.
“The suspects were apprehended, exhibits were recovered and investigation has been conducted at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID). Suspects will be charged to court on 2/06/2026,” Chinaka said.
Ex-Minister of Labour and Productivity, SellJoel Ikenya, has been declared winner of the governorship primaries conducted by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Taraba State.
Mr Felix Hyat, the chairman of the election committee, who announced the results in Jalingo on Saturday, said Ikenya scored 34,173, to defeat Mr Dinshiya Usman, who polled 4,853.
Hyat, who described the exercise as free, fair and transparent, commended the state working committee of the party for the peaceful conduct.
Ikenya, in his acceptance speech, pledged to revive Taraba to her days of glory if elected governor in 2027.
“I will transform Taraba; I will change the state from salary base, to an industrialised state.
“My desire is to also revive the state infrastructure and attract more investors to boost the economy,” he said.
The governorship candidate, however, denied the allegations of factional PDP in Taraba.
“There is no factional PDP in Taraba; I don’t know where the other people are coming from.
“PDP in Taraba is one, and we do not have any faction in the state. We are working as one united family to reclaim our mandate from Gov. Agbu Kefas of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, the Nyesom Wike led faction of the party had recently declared senator Emmanuel Bwacha as its governorship candidate in Taraba.
NAN
Insecurity: Gunmen abduct ex-Defence spokesperson Maj-Gen Rabe Abubakar, wife in Katsina
Breaking: PSG rule Europe again defeat Arsenal via penalty shootout
Police nab two for attempted theft of two-week-old baby in Abia
-
Metro18 hours agoPolice Arrest Mother, Daughter Over Alleged ₦18m Romance Scam Targeting Malta-Based Victim
-
News17 hours agoThe Politics Of Maturity: Why Rivers May Need Healing More Than Victory
-
Politics18 hours agoNollywood Actress Gets 2027 Presidential Ticket
-
News18 hours agoAkpabio Hails Tinubu’s Reforms, Endorses Re-Election as President Marks Three Years in Office
-
News17 hours agoNigerian Governors Propose ₦100,000 New Minimum Wage
-
News18 hours agoSouth African Lawmaker, MK Party Chief Whip Arrested Over Alleged R233,000 Salary Fraud
-
News18 hours agoLawyer Petitions NBC, Seeks Suspension of BBNaija Over Alleged Indecent Content
-
News17 hours agoTroops Rescue 31 Kidnap Victims In Zamfara, Katsina, Kill Five Terrorists
Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 49
You must be logged in to post a comment Login