Marwa Assumes Office, Promises to Tackle Rising Cases of Illegal Drugs
Chairman, NDLEA
The new Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), assumed office Monday with a vow that the agency under his leadership will rise to address all issues of rising cases of drugs in Nigeria.
Marwa, for Lagos state military governor, warned that the country cannot just watch while the country is suffering rising cases of drug abuse.
Speaking in Abuja, he said the country cannot accept the current level of drug abuse.
He promised to overhaul the NDLEA and expand the agency as recommended by the the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA).
According to him, “I would like to warn those who engage in the dastardly trade of importation, export, cultivation, processing, manufacturing, trafficking, sale and consumption of illicit substances to stop forthwith or be prepared to contend with the NDLEA.
“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 as every community in Nigeria is affected.
“It needs repeating that the number of drug 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 15-64 were found to be drug users, at that time nearly three times the global prevalence.”
“We will put equal efforts in drug demand reduction as contained in the NDLEA Act. We will develop a strategy of work to meet our objectives, following the National Drug Control Masterplan 2021-2025 to be released soon, as our roadmap.
“Discipline must remain our priority and topmost. It is the bedrock of an organisation such as ours. With my military background, you know what to expect.”
“Also, operational and logistical inadequacies in the service will be looked into. The NDLEA will safeguard the nation and our youths from the drug menace. That is a task that must be done”.
Marwa, for Lagos state military governor, warned that the country cannot just watch while the country is suffering rising cases of drug abuse.
Speaking in Abuja, he said the country cannot accept the current level of drug abuse.
He promised to overhaul the NDLEA and expand the agency as recommended by the the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA).
According to him, “I would like to warn those who engage in the dastardly trade of importation, export, cultivation, processing, manufacturing, trafficking, sale and consumption of illicit substances to stop forthwith or be prepared to contend with the NDLEA.
“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 as every community in Nigeria is affected.
“It needs repeating that the number of drug 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 15-64 were found to be drug users, at that time nearly three times the global prevalence.”
“We will put equal efforts in drug demand reduction as contained in the NDLEA Act. We will develop a strategy of work to meet our objectives, following the National Drug Control Masterplan 2021-2025 to be released soon, as our roadmap.
“Discipline must remain our priority and topmost. It is the bedrock of an organisation such as ours. With my military background, you know what to expect.”
“Also, operational and logistical inadequacies in the service will be looked into. The NDLEA will safeguard the nation and our youths from the drug menace. That is a task that must be done”.
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