NDLEA Applies All Society Approach To Curb Drug Use Among Nigerian Youths

– Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.)

– By Ademola Idris

The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.) has decried the use illicit drugs among young persons of school age in Nigeria, saying “it has taken a worrisome dimension.”

According to him, a large percentage of young persons of school age have been found to use all kinds of psychoactive substances including unconventional concoctions, inhalants

Meanwhile, the Parents’ Teachers’ Association-Nasarawa Agricultural Development Programme (PTA-NADP) International College, Lafia, Nasarawa emerged the winner of MTN Anti-substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) quiz competition.

The competition was organised by MTN in collaboration with the NDLEA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in commemoration with International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

In a related development, Marwa said that protecting Nigerians from the devastating effects of substance abuse is key to national development.

He made the statement at an Anti-drug Conference and book launch organised by the NDLEA Celebrity Drug-free Club as part of activities marking the 2023 United Nations Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drugs Trafficking in Abuja.

To sustain the reinvigorated campaign against substance abuse, the agency has been employing an all society approach in its drug control strategy.

Represented by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, the Chairman explained that the NDLEA Celebrity Drug-free Club is a platform set up by celebrities to advance the campaign against substance abuse in Nigeria within the entertainment industry where they operate and to the larger society.