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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
As part of activities to commemorate the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking on June 26, with the theme “Share Facts on Drugs. Save Lives”, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo attended the premiere of “The Silent Baron”, a film produced by Mr Ifeanyi Ukaeru in partnership with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to highlight the dangers of drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria.
The vice president was accompanied by NDLEA Executive Chairman Brig Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, and other top government functionaries.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, Mr Osinbajo’s presence at the film premiere Friday evening was aimed at lending his support to the global campaign against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
The movie was produced by Ekwe Nche Entertainment Ltd and the NDLEA, among other partners, and highlighted the internal challenges faced by law enforcement in fighting drug barons and dramatises how drug couriers are recruited, such as fooling ladies and their parents with false promises of taking the ladies abroad.
Starring top Nollywood actors, the movie featured the duplicitous life of a young man named Anselm, disguised as a foreign-based professional, who only visits Nigeria on short vacations and lured young ladies with gifts, alluring words and other false promises to be used as mules for his illicit drug trafficking business. In the end, he was caught.
The movie brings to the limelight the role of the NDLEA in the fight against drug trafficking, particularly at a time when the agency is aggressively exposing the menace with a significant number of arrests in the last couple of months.
After watching the movie, Vice President Osinbajo met some of the actors who were also present at the premiere, interacted briefly and took group photographs with the performers, movie producers and the production crew.
