The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed that illicit drugs worth over N60 billion have been seized by the agency in the last two months.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen Buba Marwa (rtd), revealed this on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti at a colloquium tagged: “Walk Away from Drugs,” which was organised by the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice.
Marwa, who lamented on the alarming level of drug abuse and trafficking in the country, said most crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, banditry and other manifestations of criminalities were caused by the menace.
He described the menace of drug abuse as the most worrisome in the country.
“The menace of drug use and drug abuse is universal and more worrisome in the country. In Nigeria today, there is no challenge that is more worrisome as drug abuse in the country.
“It is worrisome, that within the last two months, more than N60 billion worth of illicit drugs have been confiscated and perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.
“If access to drugs is prevented, crimes can be reduced by 50 per cent in the country,” the NDLEA boss stated.
He therefore called for concerted campaign against the use of illicit drugs among the citizenry.
The Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in his address at the meeting, restated the commitment of his administration at reducing drug abuse in the state.
Fayemi, who was represented by the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Bisi Egbeyemi, urged participants to take the deliberation seriously and come out with implementable plans to rid the society of the menace.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapounda, pointed out that the programme was organised as a result of the alarming cases of criminality being perpetrated because of the use of hard drugs.
Fapounda said “In most cases, when we are prosecuting offenders through the ministry, investigation would later reveal that the perpetrators committed the offence under the influence of hard drugs. That makes it expedient for all of us to rise against illicit drugs.”
