National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has blamed the rising cases of drug abuse on failed laws in Nigeria.
The Commander of Narcotics, NDLEA, Shehu Dankolo, disclosed this yesterday, in Abuja, during a campaign for students of Fuad Lababidi Islamic Academy.
Themed ‘Drug is An Enemy: Say No. It Destroys’, the campaign was aimed at taking care of social vices like drug abuse in the society.
Dankolo said that recent statistics revealed that 40 per cent of Nigerian youths between 18 and 35 years were deeply involved in the abuse of drugs.
While describing the statistics as worrisome he said: “I look at how safe China and Singapore are. Until we take the drug law very serious, we can’t get it right. We can’t just be a government agency, which will arrest, and when you take them to where laws are made, they are given three months, after which they come out and continue the trade.
“There is a traditional leader that was arrested on drug use and nothing was done. Because they observed there are no laws, they go and perpetrate the crime and come out free. A medical doctor was arrested last year 2021 in Edo State. What came out of it?”
Director-General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari, who was represented by the Director of Public Enlightenment and Mass Mobilisation, Mrs. Ruth Ogun, noted that the agency had been sensitising youths oa against drug addiction, political thuggery, kidnapping. radicalisation, violent extremism and ritual killing as well as general threat to social cohesion in order to address the challenges.
She said: “NOA decided to partner with NDLEA as a major stakeholder to tackle issues of drug abuse. We believe that when they talk from their own perspective and we talk from value perspective, it will balance up to turn out new citizens for the country.
“This programme is highly imperative due to the pervasive and disturbing nature of drug abuse and vices related to it, which pose great threat to social cohesion and order in the country.”
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