MON, JUNE 19 2023-theGBJournal |The fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking has yielded significant results in the last 29 months, says the Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa.
Marwa said in Abuja today at a joint press briefing with the Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Mr. Oliver Stolpe, that the agency has made 31,675 arrest of drug offenders, 5, 147 of them prosecuted and convicted while over 6.3million kilograms of assorted drugs were seized within the same period.
The briefing marks the flag off of weeklong activities marking the 2023 World Drug Day, which is an annual event.
According to the NDLEA boss, this years theme, People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention, is in furtherance of the whole-of-society approach to taming the drug scourge.
”This theme is especially pertinent to the Nigerian situation at the moment,” he noted.
He said that Nigeria have strengthened its law enforcement efforts to cut down on the supply of drugs in society in the past two and half years.
”In 29 months, we have arrested 35 barons and over 11,000 other cases still pending in court, while 23,725 drug users had been counselled and rehabilitated, majority of them through brief interventions.”
The NDLEA boss added that at least 6.3 million kilograms of various illicit substances have been recovered in response to the agemcy’s efforts to sweep up drugs and shut down the distribution channels.
”We have destroyed 852.142 hectares of cannabis farms and dismantled three clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. I can assure you that even as we speak, NDLEA agents are busy with interdiction activities somewhere.”
He said drug supply reduction is however only one of the components of the equation. “Another crucial component is drug demand reduction, which operationally means prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. It should go without saying that we must strike a balance between these two crucial components if we are to achieve our desired utopia of a drug-free society.
NDLEA has made significant investments in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation over the last two years.”
According to Marwa the doors of the agency’s rehabilitation facilities are open at all times, and in the last 29 months, acquired a few more rehab centres, given donors, while obtaining the federal governments approval for the construction of regional model rehabs.
More private treatment facilities are also cooperating with NDLEA. To cap it all, NDLEA went above and beyond to invest in a toll-free, round-the-clock call centre that provides teletherapy.
”In summary, we have prioritised treatment, while our WADA advocacy initiative has taken a life of its own with our Commands, Formations and partnering civil society organisations taking sensitisation lectures and campaigns to schools, communities, worship places and many more across the country everyday,” Marwa said.
He expressed appreciation of the partnership between NDLEA, NGOs, development partners, and the various groups, institutions, and relevant professionals in society, including media professionals, who have been very supportive of the renewed war on drugs.
In his remarks at the media briefing, UNODC Country Rep, Oliver Stolpe emphasized the benefits of international cooperation in criminal justice matters with a specific target of dismantling trafficking networks involved in the trade.
“Long overdue is the need to make sure that the public and primary health care providers are better prepared to take basic drug counseling needs, knowing how to deal with people suffering from drug use disorders,” he added.
He commended NDLEA for the successes recorded so far in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
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