NDLEA warns politicians against getting involved in drug peddling

*Advocates life jail for drug barons,others

*Remits N100b worth of drug to the federation account

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

“In Nigeria we have 36 state governors and the FCT. Why is it only one governor that is supporting the legalisation of drug? Marwa asked.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Thursday in Abuja, said it had proposed a piece of legislation seeking harsh measures for anyone found dealing in illicit drugs, saying there is no reason anybody should make consumption of such substance legal as it destroys lives and society.

In the proposal, currently before the National Assembly, the NDLEA is seeking a minimum of 15 years, a maximum of 25 years, and life sentences for anyone caught by its operatives indulging in drugs activities.

Chairman of the agency, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed this when he appeared as a guest at the weekly briefings coordinated by the Presidential Media Team, where he pointedly accused politicians of being involved in illicit drug deals and warned them against it.

He put the worth of drugs recovered from barons at over N100 billion, saying the amount has been remitted into the federation account.

He said from January 25, 2021, to date, operatives of the agency have seized more than 2.7 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs. He also revealed that 14.4 million Nigerians are currently under the influence of illicit drugs. He put the number of drug-related offences filed in court at over 5,000. These involved 9,355 arrested traffickers and six drug barons.

As of the last count, NDLEA had rehabilitated 5,579 drug users, with 20 percent of these being serious addicts.

He said challenges facing the NDLEA include the absence of barracks for operatives and their families and poor welfare. He said the current administration has made efforts to pay compensation for 188 officers killed in the line of duty.

Marwa added: “To complete the overhaul process, we have invigorated the process of amending the NDLEA Act, to provide a more robust legal framework to deal with current drug trafficking and abuse challenges.

“As a matter of necessity, we have also had to scale up our workforce by resuming the suspended 2019 recruitment and training of 5,000 operatives, with more to join in the months ahead. Once the process is completed, the agency’s workforce will have doubled by 200 per cent by mid-2022.”

General Marwa, underscoring the cordial working relationship that exists between his agency and the National Assembly, reiterated his opposition against move by some politicians to legalise cannabis in Nigeria.

“In Nigeria we have 36 state governors and the FCT. Why is it only one governor that is supporting the legalisation of drug? He asked.

The anti-narcotics czar, relying on the existing cordial relationship with the the legislature, was confident that no such effort at seeking legislative backing for cannabis will succeed, adding that legalising cannabis can only worsen situation as everyone will freely take drugs.

Responding to questions after the press briefing, General Marwa said:

“The National Assembly has been fully behind the NDLEA. There is no question about it. I have spoken directly with the committee on narcotics both in Senate and the House of Representatives. We are working closely with them on the NDLEA Act. And in fact the Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotics is tabling a resolution already on drug test as one of the veritable means of cutting down on drug demand.

“So if you know you are going to be tested before you get employed and before the student returns to school, you will certainly know that it’s better for you to avoid taking drug. And if you abstain for one month, two months from there, you may get out of it or if you know that you are taking it, you will go and get rehabilitated. The National Assembly is working on that and we are working closely with them.”

On the question about the increase in prevalence that is climbing, General Marwa said: “That is why we are doing this effort from two angles. First, obviously, is the supply reduction. All the seizures that we are doing everywhere destroying and burning of cannabis plants and so on and so forth. Because, first you have to take the drug, is isn’t it? If there are no drugs then, there can’t be drug abuse. So, every kilogramme that we seize is one kilogramme less in the street. That is one aspect of it.

“Then the second, which is probably more important, is the drug demand reduction aspect where we face the consumers to discourage them from taking drugs. And this, prevention they say is better than cure.

“So, if I mention 14.4 million Nigerians taking drugs, it means over 180 million are not. You can look at it from the other side and we have to target those that are not using drugs. You know drug is three categories. Those who are not using drugs, those who are using but are not addicted and then, those who are addicted. Those who are addicted are 20 percent of those who use drugs.

“The vast majority do not use drugs, obviously, and so the effort has to be continuing and redoubled down to the grassroots on advocacy and sensitization in families, communities, school system. The media have very important role to play and so on and so forth.”

On the officers and men, who do the job, he said, because nobody is perfect, what he does to ensure near perfection of operations is in two ways.

“First we have a monitoring task force that is reportable to me. It’s nothing for me to hide from you because I have told this to my commanders that I have my own informers in the commands. So, when things happen, I, myself link the commander and ask ‘why is this happening?’ So, they know it already. That is why everyone is on his toes.

“And then we have this particular team that goes to investigate. I don’t know what happened in the past but in NDLEA today, you can’t tamper with exhibits. It’s impossible. The exhibits keepers, the exhibits room and records, everything has to be there because we check. And obviously they know the punishment, because the Provost Marshal is there, who will try them. So, there is discipline now and we are doing our best to make everybody work straight.

“And you know in this business, and this is from my experience in the military, once the men that you command or administer know that the best is being done for them and they see their entitlements and what they need, they see that the efforts are ongoing, they fall in line and do their best. That is what is happening in the NDLEA today,” Gen Marwa said.

Taking more questions one of which was about the involvement of politicians, he said: “Definitely, at least we mentioned one in Lagos because he was caught with drugs. But I will not mention names of people that we are investigating. Obviously there are politicians that are involved like every other out of the society. The jail sentences we are looking at is a minimum of 15, maximum of 25 (years) and life. Those are all in the NDLEA Act that is under revision at the National Assembly.,” he said.

On the question that bothered on cases where inmates still have the audacity to sell drugs from inside prisons, the NDLEA boss said, “We are working with prisons”.

Detailing that he said, “There was a time some of the barons who had been jailed, somewhere between the courtroom and jail, they are effaced. They don’t serve the sentence. But with the interactions that I have with the correctional services, right from them and some of the visitations, it was made clear that this happened but in the distant past.

“Now the correctional services are upstanding and they are doing their level best. We had an arrest some few months ago in one of the prisons, supported by the head of that particular prisons, about the involvement of some of the people there in passing drugs into prisons. I must commend the correctional services because they are upstanding as far as this is concerned.

“Now, the issue of whether a jail sentence guarantees that when you come out you will never do drug again, nobody will give you that guarantee but it is a strong deterrent. If you spend 25 years in prison and somehow you manage to serve the sentence and come out in your old age, for you to go back into the trade, you only have your own self to blame. But it is a very strong deterrent,” he said.

General Marwa, who has now taken the anti-drug war in Nigeria to the global notice, was accompanied to the Villa by NDLEA officials including he Director Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, and the Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Sunday Ogbonna