By Ahmed Ajikobi
Kwara State has a record of 90 percent drug abuse among youths in Nigeria.
This was revealed by an operative of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of Kwara State command, who craved anonymity because he is not in position to speak to the press.
The source lamented the huge challenge, the Command is facing which include the problem of lack of operational vehicles, poor funding, understaffing among others.
“We make arrest everyday but our operation is being hampered by lean resources at our disposal.
Some of our officers use their personal vehicles for operation, which is wrong.”
According to the operative, the seven commands in Kwara State use one operational vehicle.
“These commands have to book for the vehicle at the headquarters when they have any crime to burst and follow some other processes.”
The source urged the state government to come to the aid of the Command by providing it with necessary tools to fight the problem of drug abuse to standstill in the state.
“Several moves have been made to inform the Federal government and the state government to rescue the command so that the command can achieve more.
“We can do much better if state government and private individuals can support the command in the war against hard drugs in the state.”
However, investigation by the National Pilot revealed that Sobi junction, Oloje phase 2 junction, Adeta area, Tanke area and Malete have become haven of hard drug users.
It was also learnt that cigarette, bitter kola and sweet sellers now deal in sales of hard drugs such as Marijuana.
When contacted, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ekerette Edward declined comment on the matter, saying that he had not been authorised to speak on the issue.
Meanwhile, NDLEA, has said it arrested two suspects with 48 grams of cocaine in Ilorin the Kwara State capital.
The state Commander of NDLEA, Ambrose Umoru disclosed this at a workshop on Effects of Drug Abuse and Trafficking on security, social and economic growth of Kwara, in Ilorin.
He further explain that, suspects Sherifat Yusuf was arrested with 22 grams of cracked cocaine and 5 grams of Swinol, while Yusuf Abdullahi was arrested with 26 grams of cracked cocaine within the Ilorin metropolis, adding that the two suspects along with others will be charged to court as soon as possible.
Umoru also revealed that from January till date a total of 331.261 kilograms of assorted drugs have been seized from 107 persons, stating that only two convictions have been recorded.
Umoru also said the UNODC report on the prevalence of drug use in Nigeria ( 2018) indicated that Kwara State has the highest prevalence rate of 13.0% which ranked highest in the North Central states.
According to him โwe need to work with all stakeholders in drug control to correct the Kwara narratives before the next survey is conducted,โ he said.
