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From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, has solicited the support of the Nigerian Army in tackling the menace of drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria.
He said the nation is currently under drug siege with about 15 million youths affected by the effect of drugs.
The NDLEA boss made this known when he visited the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, at the army headquarters in Abuja.
Marwa, while noting that drugs play a major role in the insecurity bedevilling the country, Nigeria, said nobody in his right senses will wake up and assemble people to go and kidnap 300 school children.
He said that the criminals, be they insurgents, kidnappers or bandits use drugs as motivation to perpetrate their acts, adding that this has proven to be true as many terriers/bandits camps destroyed by soldiers have been found to be infested with remnants of drugs.
He said: “As the military operations are ongoing, we need to concurrently address the drug situation which is our task in the NDLEA.
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“Unless these two go together, it could take longer for the insecurity to be speedily brought to a favourable conclusion.
“We need more fire power and I am happy to say that has been very supportive in our operations and I will like to reiterate the need for this partnership. We have also been recently arresting traffickers to Boko Haram, and I want to assure that we will continue to drive home the attack.”
Welcoming the NDLEA boss to the army headquarters, Gen Attahiru said the Nigerian army would continue to support NDLEA in the drug fight, adding that the army would synergise with the agency.
Attahiru said that findings had shown that proceeds from illicit drugs were being used to fund insecurity, adding that he has zero tolerance for drug abuse.
In a related development, the Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Air Vice Marshall Ebenezer Alade, has solicited the support of the Nigerian Army in the area of accommodation to increase the number of its intake of officers into the College.
Alade, who made the appeal when he visited the COAS in his office in Abuja, informed the army Chief of his plans to expand the curriculum of the college to be able to award master degrees among other programmes offered by the tri service training institutions.
