All hands must be on deck in the fight against drug abuse, trafficking in Nigeria- Kogi NDLEA boss

— ED, Chachavivi Women and Girl Child Development Foundation calls for more proactive steps

The Kogi state Commander, of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Abbdulkadir Fakai Abdullahi, has called on government and all stakeholders to work towards the eradication of drug Abuse and trafficking in the country.

The commander stated this on Monday in Lokoja during the grand finale of a week-long activities in celebration of the 2023 United Nations Day Against Drug Abuse and trafficking with the theme; “People First, Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention.

While describing the drug situation in Nigeria and indeed Kogi state, as disturbing, he noted that this has grave implications on security, economy and general wellbeing of the people.

According to him, statistics and empirical facts from NDLEA operations indicated clearly that drug problem is mutilating into a colossal social problem and has become an issue linked beyond doubt to escalation of insecurity and its attendant effects on peace and economy across the country.

He maintained that drugs are mostly the catalyst for various vices, ranging from; armed robbery kidnapping, banditry, rape electoral crisis and other violent crimes against humanity.

The commander stressed that Kogi state being a microcosm of Nigeria and as a federating unit cannot stand alone in the face of the ominous threat of drug abuse and trafficking.

He noted that this year’s theme “people first, stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention, is in furtherance of whole-society approach to following the drug scourge.

He stressed that the theme is particularly pertinent to the Nigeria situation at the moment, saying that its important to state that , stigmatization that discourages drug users from seeking treatment, a development which he said has serious socio-economic repercussion for individual and their families.

” Stigmatization and discrimination makes recovery and reintegration difficult for drug-dependent users who submit themselves for treatment.

“The prevalence of such an attitude is counter-productive to the effort , time and resources invested by Government institutions and cooperate bodies working to contain the drug problem.

According to him, the command recorded the seizure of 1,699, 199kg of assorted drugs, arrested 90 suspects and counseled several drug users and reintegrated them with their families and society.

In her remarks, the Executive Director of Chachavivi Women and Girl Child Development Foundation, Halimat Oiza Sadiq, calls for more proactive steps in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking in Kogi state and Nigeria as a whole.

She commended the NDLEA for the organization’s efforts in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking, adding that more still needed to be done.