The 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.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Christopher Gusau, gave the assurance, yesterday, when he visited the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Marwa (rtd) at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
Marwa commended the armed forces under 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.
While emphasising the significance of the partnership between the military and NDLEA, Marwa said substance abuse is at the root of criminalities across the country.
He said: “The criminal elements rely on drugs to carry out their nefarious activities and that is why we have been very ferocious in our offensive 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 tonnes of drugs, destroyed 1,057 hectares of cannabis farms and convicted 8,350 offenders, while 29,400 drug users have been counselled and rehabilitated within the same period.”
The anti-drug tsar, therefore, urged the armed forces to consider constructing a central rehabilitation centre and creating rehab facilities in existing military hospitals to treat their personnel that may have issues of substance abuse.
