THE MENACE OF DRUG ABUSE

At last, the NDLEA makes a new start on a crucial task

Widows and families of some deceased National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officers recently converged for special prayers that should shame our country. After more than a decade of waiting, the burial entitlements of their husbands who died in active service had been settled. This prompted a pertinent question from the NDLEA chairman, Mohammed Buba Marwa: “How do we convince those in service to be committed if we fail to tidy the affairs of those who died in the line of duty?”

That rhetorical question was a good starting point for Marwa who is prioritising staff welfare and boosting their confidence through practical steps. But even he must be aware that the war against illicit drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria is particularly difficult because it has, over the years, been compromised on many fronts. Yet hard drugs, ranging from cannabis – often called Indian Hemp – to cocaine, heroin and amphetamines – are increasingly available on the street and abused by both the young and old in our country.

The World Drug Reports recently identified cannabis as the most abused drug, corroborated by National Drug Use Survey in 2019 which revealed that over 10 million Nigerians abused it. Drug use prevalence for ages 15 to 64 in Nigeria is put at 14.4, almost three times the global drug prevalence of 5.5 per cent. According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) country representative in Nigeria, Oliver Stolpe, 27.7 per cent of the14.4 per cent of those concerned were youths who ordinarily should face their studies and called for change in the narrative to secure their future. “One in every 10 drug users is a woman; this has affected women and girls proportionately,” said Stolpe. “Data collected around the globe suggest that this has elevated cases of gender-based violence.”

Hard drugs cause serious problems for the user and the society at large. Statistics are hard to come by but there is a correlation between the abuse of drugs and organised crime. Many of the audacious crimes including vicious robberies and murders, raiding of banks, prisons, and kidnappings, are said to be aided by drugs. Most experts agree that issues related to drug abuse have increased the challenges of insecurity in the country. Recently, a hard drug named Captagon, a brand of Amphetamin, reportedly meant for insurgents and worth N6 billion, was intercepted by the NDLEA at the Apapa Port in Lagos. The agency is set for what it calls the “fight to finish campaign” against the use and trafficking of hard drugs.

Barely eight months in office, Marwa seems to have made a big difference by putting the spotlight on the issue of drug abuse in Nigeria and making the NDLEA more alive to its responsibility. Besides issues of welfare, he has strengthened the capacity and capability of his officers with good operational tools, in addition to technical assistance, provided by the UNODC, European Union, United Kingdom, United States, and others. The NDLEA is also fostering partnerships with drug enforcement agencies in foreign jurisdictions. A well-armed and trained strike force is on ground to beef up the agency’s enforcement capabilities.

With all this, the NDLEA is launching widespread operations against drug cartels across the country with large harvests. In the past few months, the agency has arrested over 8, 600 abusers, seized 2,776,000 kilogrammes of drugs worth over N100billion, and has secured at least 1,630 convictions. It is also counselling and rehabilitating others. While it may be too early to sing the victory song, there is no doubt that NDLEA is on the right path. We hope the agency can sustain the momentum.