The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Buba Marwa said that current data shows that more than 15 million Nigerians abuse drugs.
He stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, saying that individuals between ages 15 and 64 are “found to be drug users”.
Marwa said, “It needs repeating that the number of drug users in Nigeria now, looking at all the age brackets, must be well over 15 million.
“If we extrapolate these figures from the recent UNOGC survey of 2018 which put us at 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 that are found to be drug users, which is roughly three times the global average.
“I used to be the Ambassador to South Africa/Lesotho and Swaziland; the populations of Swaziland, Lesotho, and Botswana are still not up to 15 million. It is the task of NDLEA to stop all this unacceptable nonsense.
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“I would like to warn those who engage in the dastardly trade of importation, export, cultivation, processing, manufacture, trafficking, sale, and consumption of illicit substances to stop forthwith or be prepared to contend with the NDLEA.
“The NDLEA will safeguard the nation and our youths from the drug menace. That is a task that must be done.
“Together, by the grace of God, we will resuscitate and reposition NDLEA to full active life, to be effective, respected, and feared by the concerned criminals. Nigeria is the only country we have; we cannot fold our arms. We can, will, and must eliminate the drug scourge.”
