The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has clarified that the 3,907 arms reported as unaccounted for in the police armoury predate the tenure of the current Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement, explaining that the figure was drawn from an assessment by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) dating back to 2019.

According to Adejobi, the audit report categorised the arms as “unaccounted for” rather than “missing,” countering claims that the weapons had disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

“It is important to acknowledge the challenges faced by the police during periods of civil unrest, during which several police officers were killed, and their arms carted away,” he stated.
“Some attacks on police facilities and armouries also resulted in the loss of arms.”

The police spokesman further noted that efforts have been ongoing to recover the arms, with a significant number already retrieved. He also pointed out that discrepancies in audit reports may arise when auditors visit police armouries at times when firearms have been issued to officers for operational duties.

“When auditors conduct visits to our armouries, they may not find all arms present at the time due to issuance for operations, some of which last for months,” Adejobi explained. “Consequently, this may lead to misconceptions regarding the accuracy of audit reports.”

The police assured the public that steps were being taken to enhance accountability in arms management and prevent further incidents of missing or unaccounted-for firearms.

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The yield on the benchmark

gained about 4 basis points to 3.031% at 4:02 p.m. ET, climbing above 3% level for the first time since July 21.

Meanwhile, the yield on the

advanced 1 basis point to 3.235%. Yields move inversely to prices, and a basis point is equal to 0.01%.

The yield on the short-term 2-year Treasury note rose roughly 6 basis points to trade at about 3.32%.
Those moves come ahead of what could be a volatile week of trading. Investors are anticipating U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest comments on inflation at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole economic symposium.

Yields fell and then rose at the end of last week as markets mulled over the Fed’s released July meeting minutes. The Fed indicated that it would continue hiking rates until inflation slows down significantly, although the central bank could soon decrease its pace of tightening.

Author: cnbc.com

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) has disclosed that 677 drug traffickers have been jailed and 3, 359 arrested in the first quarter, from January to March 2022.

NDLEA disclosed in a statement by its Director, Media, and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

“No less than six hundred and seventy-seven (677) traffickers have been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms between January and March 2022, with a total of three thousand three hundred and fifty-nine (3,359) arrests and 65,915.891 kilograms of assorted drugs seized within the same period.

“No fewer than two thousand two hundred and twenty-three (2,223) drug users were also counselled through brief interventions and rehabilitated in NDLEA facilities across the country in the first quarter of the year; figures that represent a fair balance between the Agency’s drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities”, the statement said.

Lagos has the highest figure for drug seizures with 22,192.62 kilograms of illicit substances recovered from parts of the state, followed by the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Command, Ikeja, also in Lagos, with 8,979.869kg of drugs seized between Jan and March, while Kano and Kaduna led the pack in the arrests of offenders with 194 arrests each within the same period.

Also, a total of 257 hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed in forests across Ondo state, 14.869 hectares suffered the same fate in Edo and a hectare was destroyed in Bayelsa state within the same period.

Babafemi said a  further breakdown of the drugs seized within the first quarter of the year shows Cannabis leading the table in January with 8,205.75kg; followed by Codeine -414.281kg; Diazepam -192.459kg; Tramadol -135.067kg; Rophynol -43.062kg and Cocaine -24.32kg. In February, Cannabis also topped the list of seizures with 20,538.79kg; Codeine -1,848.052kg; Tramadol -540.354kg; Diazepam -137.041kg; Rophynol -80.261kg; Cocaine -15.727kg; Methamphetamine – 6.207kg and Heroin – 4.006kg.

Cannabis also topped the list of seizures in March with 21,583.81kg; followed by Tramadol -8,965.319kg; Codeine -417.207kg; Diazepam -57.755kg; Cocaine -45.082kg; Methamphetamine -7.527kg; Rophynol -6.34kg and Heroin -1.497kg.

Mr Babafemi commended the officers of the agency and urged them not to rest on their oars.

He assured them that every outstanding performance would always attract commensurate commendation and/or reward.

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“We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

“This president prioritizes above all else the safety and security of Americans who are serving overseas,” he said of Joe Biden, who has ordered a withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years.

“The first movement will consist of three infantry battalions that are currently in the Central Command area of responsibility,” said Defense Department spokesman John Kirby.

They will move to the Hamid Karzai International Airport within the next 24 to 48 hours, he said.

He said the Pentagon will also likely deploy more transport aircraft to Afghanistan to help remove the embassy staff and Afghans who have qualified for relocation to the United States.

The move adds to the 650 US troops still in Afghanistan for embassy protection and comes less than three weeks before Biden’s August 31 deadline for completing the US withdrawal from the country after fighting there for two decades.

Price said the embassy would remain open in its current location and “continue to do priority functions” but did not deny reports that work could be shifted to Hamid Karzai International Airport.

He said the United States would start sending in daily flights to evacuate interpreters and others who assisted the United States who are fearful for their lives due to the Taliban advance.

Kirby said another infantry combat team, up to 4,000 soldiers, would be positioned in Kuwait for backup and support.

In addition, 1,000 other military personnel would deploy to Qatar to support evacuation operations for thousands of Afghans who worked for the United States as translators and other jobs.

Price said the embassy would remain open in its current location and “continue to do priority functions” but did not deny reports that work could be shifted to the airport.

Kirby stressed that the deployment is “a temporary mission with a narrow focus,” pushing back on questions of whether the deployed troops could engage in combat with the Taliban and remain in the country after August 31.

He said though that they will be armed and “will have the capabilities to support in any manner what the State Department needs to do to facilitate this reduction.”

“We believe this is the prudent thing to do given the rapidly deteriorating security situation in and around Kabul,” he said.

“There is no planning and no discussion of using Hamid Karzai International Airport as a base for conducting airstrikes in and around Afghanistan,” he added.

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