Across Nigeria’s 36 states, here are five top stories you shouldn’t miss out on:

14.3 million Nigerians abuse drugs — NDLEA

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), has disclosed that no fewer than 14.3 million Nigerians – mostly young people and adults from the age of 16 to 64 years – abuse drugs, with cannabis being the commonly abused substance.

Marwa who disclosed this in Ogidi, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State during the celebration of Ogidi Yam Festival, said:

“What is most heartbreaking is that majority of them are young people who are initiated into cannabis use around the age of 19. There is also increasing use of other psychotropic drugs, especially heroin by a growing number of young people who are mostly initiated at the age of 22 years.

“The more you unravel the statistics of drug abuses in Nigeria, the more damning it becomes. And when you combine these damning data with the recent results of the activities of the NDLEA, then you begin to get worried.” – Nigerian Tribune reports

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Police inspector goes on a killing spree in Enugu

The Enugu Police Command on Sunday said it arrested a trigger-happy police inspector who allegedly killed five people and left four others critically injured.

The Police inspector, reportedly attached to Special Protection Unit Base 9, Umuahia, Abia State, started shooting residents at a lotto office on Sunday morning.

He was said to have gunned down five young men.- Punch reports

Nigeria’s Insurance industry assets rise to N2.02tn

Insurance companies’ gross written premium rose to N520bn as of the end of 2020, while their assets hit N2.02tn as the sector undergoes recapitalisation.

Statistics obtained on Sunday from the Central Bank of Nigeria on ‘Insurance Sector (general and life) consolidated Balance Sheet’ showed that the industry’s asset rose by N401bn to N2.02tn as of the end of 2020 from N1.62tn as of the end of 2019.

The National Insurance Commission also disclosed in its report on ‘Market Development Drives of NAICOM’ that as of the end of 2020, the sector generated a gross written premium of N520bn. – Punch reports

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Open grazing undercuts N1.8trn CBN’s investment in agriculture

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed over N1.8 trillion as intervention funds through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but there are fears that the objectives of the initiative may never be realised.

A recent data published by CBN indicated that only a fraction of the N1.8 trillion disbursements has been recovered while the largest proportion remained outstanding. For instance, 100 per cent of the disbursements in the accelerated agricultural development remained outstanding and likewise for the rice distribution facility of which no beneficiary has repaid the loans. 

For the Textile Sector Intervention Facility, 96 per cent of the loans are yet to be repaid; Anchor Borrowers’ Programme – 76 per cent; Commercial Agric Credit Scheme- 34.0 per cent; National Food Security Programme- 80.7 percent; AgriBusiness/SME Investment Scheme- 99.7 per cent; and Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, 69.1 per cent. – Nigerian Tribune reports

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IPMAN threatens strike in Niger State

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Suleja/Abuja Unit, on Sunday, threatened to embark on a strike action over alleged extortion by officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Chairman of the Unit, Yahaya Ahman Alhassan, who made the disclosure during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, says the association seeks an explanation to DPR’s incessant demand for daily sales activities from filling stations.

“IPMAN has no other alternative other than instructing our members not to load from Suleja depot in Niger State to express our frustrations after all efforts to make DPR officials desist from unethical practices failed.”

“These issues have to be resolved before we can commence lifting of products from the depot,” he said. – Nigerian Tribune