The Nigerian military has promised to strengthen its synergy with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, to curtail the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Gusau, gave the assurance on Monday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) at the Agency’s National Headquarters in Abuja.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Femi Babafemi the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy.
According to the statement, Marwa, in his remarks, commended the Nigerian Armed Forces under the leadership of the CDS for their loyalty, sacrifices and hard work to keep the country safe. He also thanked the military for supporting the Agency in terms of logistics and training.
Marwa explained that substance abuse is at the root of crimes and criminalities across the country, while emphasizing the significance of the partnership between the military and the NDLEA.
“The criminal elements rely on drugs to carry out their criminalities and that is why we have been very ferocious in our offensive action against them to cut access and availability of these illicit drugs.
“As a result, in about three years we have arrested 42, 105 drug offenders, including 46 barons; seized 7, 500 tons of drugs; 1, 057 hectares of cannabis farms destroyed and 8, 350 offenders convicted while 29,400 drug users have been counselled and rehabilitated within the same period.”
He urged the Armed Forces to consider constructing a central rehabilitation centre and creating rehab facilities in existing military hospitals to attend to the treatment of their personnel that may have issues of substance abuse.
Earlier in his speech, the CDS commended the NDLEA management team for their efforts on the drug war.
He assured of the continued support of the Armed Forces to NDLEA in its renewed fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
According to him, the Agency’s efforts have motivated the military to introduce drug tests as a requirement for training and promotion in the armed forces.
