Linus Aleke, Abuja:
The President, Centre for Ethical Rebirth among Nigerian Youths (CERANY) Barr. Chuks Akamadu has described the high prevalence of drug abuse in Nigeria as a plague to the nation.
Akamadu who gave this description at the Train-The-Trainers Conference in Commemoration of the 2017 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Abuja with the theme ‘Recognizing Drug Abuse as National Emergency’ also added that there is exponential population growth among young people of Nigeria who abuse drug.
He explained that out of the 196 countries surveyed by United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) in 2014, Nigeria rated number one in cannabis sativa seizure, while statistics from National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) indicates that the agency seized within Nigerian borders, narcotics drugs valued at 22 billion naira in 2015.
His words, “Drug abuse is a plague on the nation… worse still, it deteriorates by the second. Our collective failure to give it the attention it deserves has emboldened it to become fashionable; and as a fad, the vulnerable are been left at the mercy of peddlers and consumers who are constantly recruiting.
“As things stand, it makes little or no differences that NDLEA was able to arrest 34,499 suspects and secured 7,317 convictions against offenders between 2012 and 2015. On the contrary, what matters the most is that the outcome of the agency’s best effort is regrettably a drop in the ocean, and the nation – particularly her youths remains on all fours as casualty figures keep raising.
“The threat posed by drug abuse to the society is real and alarming
In his goodwill massage at the occasion, the Commissioner of Police FCT Command, Mr. Musa Kimo appealed to the public to assist the security agencies in combating crime in the society, saying that the job of policing is every citizen.
He noted that the police force and other sister agencies cannot function effectively without the cooperation of the public, arguing that the criminal elements, illicit drug peddlers and deviants in the society lives among the people, therefore information from the public can help security operatives to fish out the hoodlums.
Kimo also appealed to the youths to desist from drug abuse to avoid the negative effect associated with drug abuse and illicit trafficking, while promising to rid FCT of illicit drug and criminality.
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