The Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) has advocated regular engagement and sensitisation of youths to the dangers of drug abuse and alcoholism leading to cultism, vices and criminality.
The National Coordinator of POCACOV, CSP Ebere Amaraizu, made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday.
Amaraizu spoke on the sidelines of youths being recruited by social misfits and anti-patriotic groups/organisations solely for negative and anti-social acts.
He said that youths needed strict guidance to save them from social misfits and unpatriotic organisations that introduce them into drug abuse and alcoholism.
“It is now the concern of all to ensure that youths are fully engaged and lead purposeful lives.
“Everyone, especially, community leaders should close ranks and ensure that youths are not hijacked by forces of evil and social misfits to continue to cause mayhem and terror in the society.
“Young minds should embracing good coping skills rather than indulge in negative coping skills of the use of hard drugs and alcohol to wade-off stress and at times societal pressure on them.
“It is now a collective duty for these young minds to be properly mentored and guided against unpatriotic elements that lead them into unprovoked aggressive behaviours by luring them into hard drugs and alcoholism,’’ he said.
Amaraizu urged parents and community leaders to expose young people to good examples and “people who are progressing in the right path of life’’.
NAN reports that POCACOV is a community driven programme of the Nigeria Police Force working with different stakeholders to enhance community peace, safety and security.
The programme is aimed at saving children and youths from the claws of cultism, violence and other vices through advocacy, awareness creation and sensitisation, mentoring and reorientation.(NAN)
