Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), yesterday, assured the Nigerian people that the agency would work in synergy with other security agencies towards ensuring a violence-free election come 2023.
Marwa, who gave the assurance while delivering a lecture at the 15th anniversary of the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), identified the use of hard drug as a major factor behind most violent acts and assured the people that the agency, before the conduct of the 2023 general election, would move round the country to mop up all illicit drugs as well as prosecute all those involved in their distribution.
“We shall redouble our effort to make sure we take out of the system substances that can catalyze violence”, Marwa, who was represented by the Secretary of the NDLEA, Shadrach Haruna, said.
Speaking on the theme: “How Hard Drugs Fuel Election Violence in Nigeria”, he remarked that the world would be a safer place for all once the issue of illicit drugs is brought under control.
The agency, however, blamed do-or-die politicians for the surge in illicit drugs during election periods, adding that politicians resort to underhand tactics, including arming thugs to disrupt the electoral process.
While stating that such behaviours not only disenfranchise others and prevent them from exercising their civic duty, Marwa observed that they inevitably jeopardised peace and security in society.
His words: “We are aware of the role of illicit substances in the escalation of violence and breakdown of law and order. Psychoactive drugs like methamphetamine, pharmaceutical opioids and cannabis are accompaniments to the tools of election violence.
“In this regard, we will rev up our offensive action as the country draws closer to electioneering campaigns, by deploying the full resources and assets of the agency to track, discover, interdict and mop up dangerous substances from every nook and cranny of our society,” he said.
