Anambra State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it secured 160 convictions on hard drug-related offences and also rehabilitated 100 substance of abused patients in the State in 2023.
The State’s Commandant of NDLEA, Mr. Daniel Onyishi who disclosed this to newsmen, also revealed that the Agency seized no fewer than 3.338 tons of different types of hard drugs in the State same year.
He dismissed as false claims by some youths that they drew inspiration from hard drugs which they also claimed improve their creativity.
Onyishi listed various efforts of his Agency in combating drug trafficking and abuse in the state, including radio programs, outdoor campaigns and sensitization of schools children on the dangers and effects of hard drugs both on individuals taking it and the society at large.
Quoting a report of a recent research by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Onyishi said 14.4% Nigerians are on drugs, adding that the research also projected that the alarming figure may hit 40% by 2030.
While stressing that drug selling or trafficking is not a business venture, Onyishi enjoined the public not to shield but to always expose and report drug dealers to the Agency, regardless of their relationship with such individuals.
He said: “If you know anyone who deals on drugs, make NDLEA know. Don’t shield or harbour them. Selling drugs is not a business.
“Anybody who knows a drug dealer but shields him or refuses to let NDLEA know about his illicit drug deals is an enemy of the State because you’re not doing the state and the society any good.
“But if you reveal the information to us, you will see that we will tackle the menace from the root point and achieve greater results, because if there is no supply, there can’t be demand.
“People use drugs because they see where to get them from. But when they don’t see drugs to buy, they won’t have any to use. And by so doing, the society gets better sanitized of drugs.”
The NDLEA Boss reassured that the Agency would not relent in combating the menace, calling for collaborative efforts in the fight against drug abuse, to bring the perpetrators to justice.
He expressed optimism that the Agency’s new collaboration with wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, currently the Chairperson of the State’s Drug Control Committee, would yield more fruitful and impactful results in fight against drug abuse in the state.
