Mohammed Buba Marwa, a former military governor of Lagos state, has bemoaned the scourge of drug abuse in the nation.
Ekohotblog reports that Marwa, who officially took over as the new chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Monday, said drug abuse has eaten “very deep” into the Nigerian society,
Speaking at his maiden meeting with the management and staff of the agency on Monday in Abuja, Marwa said the NDLEA will be repositioned and revived too tackle the menace of drug peddlers.
He described drug abuse as “unacceptable nonsense”, noting a roadmap that would guide the agency will soon be released.
“It is the task of NDLEA to stop all these unacceptable nonsense of drug abuse in Nigeria,” he said.
“As the lead agency in the drug war in Nigeria, you are all too familiar with the extent of devastation that drug use has caused our nation. Drug use has eaten very deep into our social fabric. Every community in Nigeria is affected.
“It needs repeating that the number of drugs users in Nigeria now, of all ages must be well over 15 million.
“If we extrapolate the figures of the recent UNODC survey of 2018 where 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 to 64 years were found to be drug users, at that time, nearly three times the global prevalence.
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“We will resuscitate NDLEA to be fully active, to be effective, respected and be feared by all concerned criminals. Nigeria is the only country we have; we cannot fold our arms. We can, will and must eliminate the drug scourge.”
Marwa also admonished peddlers to refrain from dealing in illicit drugs, adding that NDLEA under him will protect the youth from drug menace.
“I would like to warn those who engage in the dastardly trade of importation, export, cultivation, processing, manufacture, trafficking, sale and consumption of illicit substances to stop forthwith or be prepared to contend with NDLEA,” he said.
“NDLEA will safeguard the nation and our youths from the drug menace.”
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