The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says the task to keep modern societies safe from the scourge of illicit drugs, demands global commitment and action.
The Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, retired Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa made this known while addressing a gathering of academics, students, mental health professionals and Nigerians in the diaspora at the University of Kansas, USA.
Marwa delivered a lecture on “War Against Substance Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking: The Nigerian Story” during the 2023 edition of the Marwa Africana Lecture Series organized by the Department of African and African-American Studies of the University of Kansas.
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While speaking about the Nigerian experience in the fight against the global drug scourge, the NDLEA boss said: “We have been able to keep a huge cache of drugs from getting into our streets by seizing them at the border or before distribution courtesy of intelligence sharing with our counterparts in source countries or along the transnational routes.”
According to Marwa, Nigeria has run an unflagging anti-illicit drug campaign based on global best practices for drug law enforcement and guided by UNODC’s Whole-of-Society approach to the drug conundrum.
“While we have achieved remarkable mileage, the Nigerian anti-drug campaign is nonetheless a work in progress. Be that as it may, our achievements of the past 30 months, relative to the past 30 years, have bolstered our hope of greater accomplishments going forward.”
The support from international partners, governments of friendly countries, the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Nigerian people has strengthened the agency’s conviction that the objective “we pursue is not unrealistic.”
“The task of keeping modern society safe from the scourge of illicit drugs requires a global commitment, and in NDLEA and Nigeria, we are doing everything possible to fulfil our end of the bargain.”
The NDLEA boss said some of the strategic steps taken to get positive results by NDLEA involved the adoption of innovation.
“We upgraded our Standard Operating Procedures. We innovated our methodologies, adopted sophisticated tools and systems, and embraced revolutionary paradigms in treatment.”
The lecture presentation followed an interactive session during which Marwa answered questions asked by members of the audience especially Nigerians who expressed happiness about efforts being made by the Nigerian government to curtail drug scourge.
