The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), has justified the decision of the anti-narcotics body to go after the assets of drug barons and traffickers as part of the ongoing offensive action against illicit drugs and cartels.
Marwa who was represented by the Agency’s Secretary, Shadrach Haruna explained the rationale behind the fresh drive of the Agency while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, to kick off the week-long activities to commemorate the 2024 International Day Against Drugs and Illicit Trafficking, in conjunction with other stakeholders such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
According to him, NDLEA offensive action against drug cartels and traffickers, was launched in January 2021, and has to date, continued to yield the desired result with the arrests and prosecutions of several barons.
Speaking on the drug demand reduction efforts of the Agency, Haruna said the flagship program, War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) built on the whole of society approach to preventive action against drug abuse has been a tremendous success as an effective tool in the advocacy for social action and an awareness-driven vehicle for public engagement and collaboration against illicit trafficking and abuse, which he said aligns with the theme for the 2024 world drug day. He stated that, the World Drug Day, observed on June 26 every year, is an important day for the global community and an occasion during which current efforts against illicit drug problems are given policy direction for the next 12 months.
Haruna noted that, the theme of this year, “The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention”, emphasizes the importance of preventing people from falling into the danger of experimenting with illicit drugs and subsequently falling into the trap of dependence on psychoactive substances. In his remarks, UNODC Country Deputy Representative, Mr. Danilo Campisi, called on government at all levels and other stakeholders in Nigeria to invest in drug use preventive measures to avoid a 40% rise in the population of drug users in the country, especially the youth population.
