NDLEA has ‌‍‍‌‍⁠⁠‍‌⁠⁠‍⁠⁠‍‌rehabilitated 54,000 drug customers in 5 years – Marwa

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed that it had counselled and rehabilitated greater than 54, 000 drug customers over the previous 5 years.

The Agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), made the disclosure Friday in Benin City, on the second Regimental Sergeant Majors’ (RSMs) Convention.

Marwa, who emphasised that substance dependence was a treatable well being situation requiring intervention and help, urged the Nigerian Army to strengthen efforts to forestall drug abuse amongst its personnel.

He spoke on the theme, “Combating Drug Abuse and Substance Misuse in the Nigerian Army: The Role of RSMs in Prevention, Early Detection and Rehabilitation.”

“A drug user is not automatically a criminal to be thrown away. In many cases, he is a sick man who needs help,” he stated.

Marwa stated the NDLEA’s rehabilitation efforts shaped a part of a broader response to the nation’s drug drawback, which additionally concerned enforcement, prevention and public sensitisation.

The NDLEA chairman disclosed that the company had arrested greater than 76, 000 suspects, together with 250 drug barons, previously 5 years.

He added that it seized greater than 16 million kilogrammes of illicit substances, destroyed over 2,000 hectares of hashish farms and secured 16,691 convictions throughout the interval.

“The agency also conducted 17,000 War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy activities in schools, workplaces, markets, motor parks and communities,” he stated.

He stated medicine may impair troopers’ judgement and set off aggression, paranoia, and delusion, probably endangering colleagues and civilians throughout army operations.

“Combat requires reliability. One unreliable man can lead to the loss of lives of 10 men or more,” he stated.

He stated their every day interplay with personnel positioned them in a strategic place to detect behavioural adjustments and determine doable instances of substance misuse early.

“You are the commanding officer’s most honest adviser. You must tell the commander the truth. You are the principal moral boss of the unit. You can build morale or kill it,” he stated.

Marwa additionally urged army authorities to differentiate between drug trafficking and substance dependence, saying traffickers ought to face the legislation whereas personnel battling habit must be assessed for therapy.

He referred to as for stronger collaboration between the military and NDLEA, notably in intelligence gathering and operations towards drug trafficking networks.

“The NDLEA cannot fight this war alone. The army cannot fight this war alone. Drug abuse is a shared enemy,” he stated. (NAN)