The Katsina State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested 1,344 suspected drug dealers and drug traffickers within one year.
Although, most of the suspects arrested who cut across all genders, were briefly counseled and released, the command said, it has also seized a total of 1,161.831kg of Cannabis Sativa, 77.0271kg of Psychotropic Substances alongside 80.400kg of other Control Drugs totalling 1,319.258kg.
The 17th NDLEA Commander in Katsina State Hassan Abubakar disclosed this on Thursday at the Katsina NDLEA Command Headquarters in a briefing to herald the week-long programmes to commemorate the United Nations as International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
He said that within the period under review, the Command had sensitised an estimated number of 56,016 participants and counseled 136 clients admitted.
Abubakar who revealed that the Command had secured 107 convictions, and recorded 112 pending cases alongside 120 new legal cases said the Command also conducted 125 sensitization programmes and had a brief intervention on 529 suspects.
Despite these achievements, the Command said it is constrained by so many bottlenecks in combating the drug menace in the state.
These challenges include among many others unbecoming attitudes of some communities to obstruct officers’ assigned duties, the alarming rise in the influx of drugs and psychotropics into the state territory amidst all efforts the Command is putting in place to counter the move, and the increased cases of women involvement into drug activities.
The State NDLEA Commander seized the moment to show samples of the seizures made by the Command within the period under review.
The theme for this year’s celebration which has also coincided with 1 year in office anniversary of the State Commander is: Evidence is Clear: “Invest in Prevention”.
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“The theme as you may observed advocates for strategizing proactive evidenced-based preventive measures against the menace of drug abuse rather than treatment which ironically resonates with the wise saying, ‘prevention is better than cure’,” he said.
“Let me use this opportunity to also tell you that, this year’s occasion is fortunately coinciding with my one year anniversary as the 17th NDLEA Commander of my dear State, Katsina. So, I feel so much delighted to celebrate these two important events concurrently.
“As part of our critical and esteemed partners in the propagation of our WADA public enlightenment and advocacy effort against drug abuse and trafficking allow me to use this momentous occasion to express our deepest appreciation to what you have been doing in that direction.
“Through your activities, the general public gets to know the desirable impact of collaborations and partnerships with NDLEA in fighting the scourge of illicit drug use and trafficking within our domain.
“The rate of drug and other psychotropic substance abuse and trafficking among the general public in the state still remains an alarming and serious area of concern for the command and government. It cuts across all strata of community members which suggests that everybody is affected either directly or indirectly.
“It is a crystal fact that most of the people indulging in this inglorious trading of drugs are doing it for its huge economic and financial gains, and to that effect the Command has not relented in its operational tactics and strategies with a mission to cripple anybody found wanting as we no longer see the drugs in usual places but unconventional business premises.
“We urge the public to continue to partner with us in exposing such bad eggs in our midst.
“The task is enormous and has cost the Command huge financial and material resources as we match our words with actions, therefore the Command has set in motion some workable mechanisms to continue to disrupt the activities of drug dealers across the twelve (12) Area Commands and border posts.
“At this juncture, It’s my pleasure to bring to your notice the unwavering commitments of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Muhammadu Buba Marwa Rtd of taking the agency to a higher level of prestige and performance by approving the establishment of Offices across Nigeria’s 774 local governments.
“Here in Katsina State, our effort to realise such development has been tremendous and stands tall above all other 36 states of the federation with cooperation and assistance of the State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Governor Mallam Dikko Umar Radda, Phd and Local Government Chairmen.”
