The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kogi Command, on Tuesday said the agency was focused on reducing circulation of illicit drugs to forestall usage.
Mr Umar Yahuza, State Commander of the agency, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja.
Yahuza explained that with a reduction in circulation of illicit drugs, the usage and dependence level would drop, which would in the long run reduce vices like insurgency, kidnapping and others in the society.
According to him, drug abuse is the catalyst to all the insurgencies and kidnappings ravaging the society today.
“All the problems of insurgency and kidnapping are drug induced, because it won’t be possible to carry out kidnapping without the use of illicit drugs.
“But we can stop insurgency, kidnapping and other vices if we collectively fight against the menace of drug abuse and trafficking in the country.
“Our focus now is to ensure that we reduce the circulation of hard drugs and its menace in Kogi and Nigeria as a whole.”
The commander disclosed that the command had put in place strategies to arrest drug abusers and traffickers as well as seize all illicit drugs being peddled in and through Kogi.
He called on the state government, community and religious leaders and other stakeholders to join the NDLEA to successfully fight drug abuse and trafficking.
“We will take these messages to government institutions/schools, religious places such as Churches, Mosques, market places and motor parks.
“This is with the aim of discouraging those contemplating going into the business of illicit drug trafficking and abuse to have a change of mind.
“And those that are into it and need succour and help can come forward to get counselling from the agency.
”Even those that are so used to it or who are addicted can overcome it, be rehabilitated and then integrated back to the society,” he said.
Yahuza, therefore, called on stakeholders to help sensitise the public to the danger of illicit drugs and see how it could be stamped out from the state in particular and the society at large. (NAN)
By Thompson Yamput
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