National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested 6 drug barons and over 9,000 traffickers in various operations conducted from mid October to date.
The Chairman of the agency, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, disclosed this in Abuja, while briefing State House correspondents on their achievements so far.
He said over 100 billion Naira worth of drugs and large sums of cash were recovered from traffickers, with about 6,000 drug-users counselled and rehabilitated, while over 5,000 drug offences cases filed in court.
Brigadier General Marwa attributed the successes attained to a new operational philosophy NDLEA had adopted, which was being driven by intelligence and collaborations.
He explained that the philosophy had given them the impetus to discover and dismantle drug organisations, thereby reducing the circulation of illicit drugs.
He said under its Operation Offensive Action, NDLEA had been able to mop up existing drugs in the country, stem the influx of narcotic drugs into Nigeria, and disconnected the trafficking pipeline of drugs, thus removing Nigeria from global drug network.
The Chairman of the agency said NDLEA was making plans to sensitise Nigerians on the importance of seeing themselves as stakeholders in the efforts at curbing the trafficking of illicit substances.
To further strengthen the law establishing the agency, Brigadier General Marwa said they had initiated an amendment to the NDLEA Act to include stern punishments that could completely discourage citizens from engaging in the drug business.
He pointed out that the achievements attained by agency had prompted the anti-drug agencies in the Gambia and Saudi Arabia to go into partnership with it, while its counterparts in the UK, the US, and France donated equipment to it to facilitate its operation.
Consequently, the Chairman of the agency said they had secured commitment from some state governments to support its drug-reduction efforts by building rehabilitation centres, explaining that the Rivers State Government has already donated operational vehicles to the agency.
On whether Nigeria will also legalise the use of cannabis as other countries, Brigadier General Marwa said government’s sensitivity to the healthcare of Nigerians would not allow it to jump into the bandwagon.
Bello Wakili