President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mr Shadrach Haruna as the new Secretary of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Adeleke Mamora, has cautioned drug manufacturers against producing substandard drugs to curb addiction and drug-related issues in the country.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja, on Friday, fixed July 2, to deliver judgment in one of the two fresh suits instituted by Sen. Buruji Kashamu to stop the Federal Government from extraditing him to the U.S. for trial over an alleged drugs offence. The judge who was billed to deliver the…

The immediate past President of Resident Doctors Association at the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, and psychiatrist, Dr. Raliat Akerele, in this interview with GERALDINE AKUTU, said for medical marijuana to be effective in Nigeria, the government should fund large-scale research into the crop. Can you explain the gradual adoption of marijuana in health therapy?…

• Indicts Ethiopian, Egyptian airlines in Zainab’s arrest by S’Arabia From the chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, yesterday came the damning verdict that the country’s airports lacked the requisite security infrastructure to check the activities of drug cartels, especially those that incriminate unsuspecting travelers. Addressing an ad hoc committee…

Dysfunctional scanners have induced manual clearing of over 1.5 million 20-foot containers equivalent (TEUs) at the Lagos Ports yearly. Consequently, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed concern over the inefficient cargo handling system and deployment of additional barriers, stating that scanners at the Lagos Ports Complex have not worked in the…

Foreign Affairs Ministry says its silent diplomatic efforts in the past few weeks culminated in the release of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar arrested by Saudi authority for drug related offence. The ministry said this in a statement by its Acting Spokesperson, Mr Friday Akpan, on Thursday in Abuja “Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian student who…

The Federal High Court Abuja, on Monday, sentenced a 66 -year-old woman, Sikirat Adeyemi to five years in prison for exporting 1.340 kg of heroin. Adeyemi who was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had pleaded guilty to the offence. When the matter was called on Monday, she pleaded for forgiveness, almost…

The House of Representatives is to approve the draft National Tobacco Control Regulations (NTCR) before June this year. Speaker Yakubu Dogara gave the assurance yesterday during an interactive session with stakeholders organised by the Simon Arabo-led committee on delegated legislation on the tobacco control regulation in Abuja. Represented by the Deputy Whip, Pally Iriase, he…

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called on the judiciary to be more proactive in handling criminal charges.     The Centre made the call at a one-day Nigeria Criminal Justice (Crimjust) Project Review Meeting held penultimate week in Keffi, Nasarawa State.     The Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, who was represented…

Medical experts have raised fresh alarm over rise in fake and adulterated drugs, medicines’ abuse and misuse, misdiagnosis, disease treatment errors and failure as well as morbidity and mortality in the country. They blamed the situation on the delay and failure by the Federal Government (FG) in reconstituting the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria…

Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Friday sentenced two drug dealers– Suleiman Mustafa and Wasiu Gafar– to seven years imprisonment for trafficking in 601.1 kg of Indian hemp. In two separate judgments, Ayo-Emmanuel held that he convicted Mustafa and Gafar based on the evidence before him. “The quantity of the Indian…