President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with service chiefs, Minister of Defence, Mr Mansur Dan-Ali; and National Security Adviser, Mr Babagana Monguno. The meeting, presided by Mr Buhari, was also attended by Director General of State Security Services, SSS, Mr Lawal Daura, acting Director of Nigeria Intelligence Agency, NIA, Mr Arab Yadam, and representative of the Inspector-General of Police. The service chiefs at the meeting include Chief of Defence Staff, Mr Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Mr Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Mr Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff, Mr Sadique Abubakar. NAN

The Senate, yesterday, raised the alarm that the 19 Northern states of the federation were under serious threat due to drug abuse, stating that over three million bottles of codeine syrup were consumed daily in Kano and Jigawa states. It disclosed that across the 19 states, women, young girls in tertiary institutions, working class ladies, married, unemployed women displaced by Boko Haram insurgency, among others, were involved in drug abuse, and that in 2015 alone, over 2,205 people were arrested in North-West geo-political zone by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, over drug-related abuses. Consequently, the Senate mandated its Joint…