NDLEA Nabs 605 Drug Users, Secures 81 Convictions In Ogun
- By Metropolix ~
- March 20, 2024 --
- 0 Comment
– File photo of an NDLEA operative
By Adeola Idris
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said it arrested no fewer than 605 drug users and traffickers in Ogun State in 2023.
The agency added that 81 out of the 605 suspects were prosecuted and convicted in court.
The state Commander of the NDLEA, Ibiba Odili, disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with journalists in Abeokuta on the activities of the command last year. Out of 605 arrests, Odili said 497 were male while 108 were female.
Odili said, “For the year under review which we are talking about for the past year we had a total of 605 suspects, breaking it down to 497 males and 108 females that is for arrest and seizures. Then for conviction, we have 81 in total, male we have 70 and female we have 11.
“In the course of our arrest and daily activities, we came across people who are using drugs. Based on international best practices, these people are not called suspects, they are not sent to jail.
“Research has identified them as people suffering from chronic brain disorder. This means they need help, treatment, support and rehabilitation to get out of the drug problems”.
In this category, the commander said 340 of them were given brief counselling in the year under review. She puts the average age of the suspects at 30-60, adding that a handful of them are in their 70s.
According to her, seizures made were 14.405.3236kg of Cannabis Sativa, 1.3717kg of Methamphetamine, Cocaine – 0.1986kg; heroine – 0.0881kg among others.
“Cannabis Sativa is the most common drug of abuse in Nigeria because in 2018 there was a national drug use survey that was conducted and published and it had that Cannabis Sativa is the most common drug abused in Nigeria and Ogun State is part of Nigeria and also let us remember that Ogun state is one of the state that cultivate cannabis sativa in the country which means cannabis sativa is available, is affordable, and accessible not just in Ogun state but in every part of Nigeria.
“We can call it the first drug of choice for drug users so because of that it is widely distributed”, Odili said.
She blamed dysfunctional families, peer pressure, poverty and social media as some of the factors responsible for the rising drug abuse in society.
She added that money remains the attraction for those involved in drug trafficking.
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