FG not Doing Enough to Fight Drug Abuse, Says NDLEA Boss

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

The federal government has been criticised for not doing enough to fight drug abuse in Nigeria, even as the recent ban on codeine has been described as a drop in the mighty ocean of what is required to tackle drug problems in the country.

Speaking at a press conference marking the United Nations Anti-Drug Abuse and Trafficking Day in Maiduguri, the Borno State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Iweajunwa Joseph, lamented that the last time substantial amount was invested by the federal government to fight drug abuse in the country was in 2014.

He insisted that the present administration has shied away from its role of appropriately funding the NDLEA and subsequently the fight against drug abuse in Nigeria.

He said: “It is very important that federal government should match their words with action by providing adequate funds for the Agency (including recruitment, logistics, promotions, etc). They should practically show good fate for the citizenry to follow.”

He said the issues that are pushing people into drugs should also be addressed “like unemployment, family breakdown and neglect of the children, political thuggery, insurgency, money and hero worship, very bad examples by people in authority, frustration and mental imbalance”.

He said the drug war effort must be the responsibility of all well meaning Nigerians, adding: “It is not to be left for the NDLEA or the government alone. There is also the need for security and law enforcement agencies to cooperate and work together for the common good of the nation.”

The NDLEA boss disclosed that the command in Borno has continued in her two-pronged approach of supply control and demand reduction in tackling the Herculean and challenging drug situation in the North-east state.

According to him, “In the area of supply control, the command has been able to make a total arrest of 626 suspects (617 males and 9 females) from January 2017 to December 2017.

“In this period, we made a total seizure of 517,423 kilogrammes, 10 pinches of heroine and two pinches of cocaine. For the first six months of year 2018 (January to June), we have arrested 312 suspects (310 males, 2 females) and made a seizure of 545,369 kilogrammes of solid drugs and 22.2 litres (222 bottles) of cough syrup with codeine.”