Nigeria drug police wey be di Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA say over ten million Nigerians dey smoke igbo – cannabis- for di kontri.
Inside exclusive interview with BBC Pidgin, NDLEA boss, Mohammed Buba Marwa say cannabis na im get di highest consumption rate for Nigeria.
According to am, di world report wey predict say e go increase for Africa wit ova 40% na im ginger dem to chook eye well-well for cannabis mata.
“Even though we enta farms go destroy di cannabis plants, dem fit plant am back. So dis unit wey we just create – Alternative Development Unit – for di agency na to address cannabis farming. To chook eye on how dem go beg and convince di farmers wey dey plant cannabis to stop to plant am, instead make dem plant oda crops or tins wey no dey criminal, wey dey legitimate and wey go benefit di economy.” E tok.
‘Nigerians don become experts for Meth production’
Methamphetamine wey dey popular as ‘Meth’ na one of di substances wey pipo dey abuse recently.
According to oga Marwa, na Latinos introduce methamphetamine to Nigeria about 15 years ago and dem teach criminals for Nigerian how to manufacture am for laboratories.
Im say Nigerians don become experts for Meth production, and dia own dey strong sotay kontris for Asia and di Oceanic region dey find am well-well.
“Di NDLEA dey aware of dis danger and we don increase our efforts to dismantle di laboratories. We dey very professional about am and our operations na based on intelligence.”
According to dia data, Lagos state, for southwest Nigeria get di highest drug addiction rate wit 33% from di 2018 drug use survey for pipo between di ages of 15 and 64. Dis na sake of di high cannabis wey dey di state.
Kano state for northern Nigeria, na second and na dem be champion for opioids wit 16%, about half of Lagos own.
“E dey veri bad to di extent wey be say e don reach our throat, enough is enough and na wetin we dey tok about as we dey mark di World Drug Day.” E tok.
According to am from di survey wey dem do for 2018 ova (14,000,000) Fourteen million Nigerians dey into drugs and na three times di global average.
“So we need to focus to stop am now to make sure say new pipo no join, we happy say Federal goment dey support us and oda agencies too for dis fight”.
Drug abuse for Nigeria don reduce?
Di NDLEA boss add say even though work still plenti to do, to fight against drug abuse, di rate of drug abuse for Nigeria don reduce.
“Drug abuse and di availability of di substance dey waka togeda, if drugs no dey dem no go see am to abuse am so wit di number of drugs wey we don seize about 7.6 million kilograms of banned substances in di last three years, e mean say we don remove dem from di mouths of di pipo wey suppose use am.”
Im explain say even though dis drugs wey dem seize na for exports most of dem na for domestic and local pipo to consume and im believe say dem don succeed to an extent to reduce di demand.
For di last one year NDLEA say dem don convict ova 2000 pipo for drug related offences and crimes.
“We don partner wit di Drug Enforcement Administration for di US and di Bureau of di National Narcotics Law Affairs, dis two organisation dey collabo wit us for training and equipment, we dey also share intelligence togeda.”
Im add say dem dey also joinbodi wit di National Crime Agency of di United Kingdom, di UK Border Force, di Narcotics Control Board for India. Dem dey also work wit di French, German, Brazil and dem dey partner with United States, France and many odas to fight di war against drug abuse.
Di agency say dem dey also help victims of drug abuse with rehabilitation.
Even though no be di work of im agency, oga Marwa also chook mouth for pipo and pharmacies wey dey sell banned substances like Tramadol, Benyline wit codeine ova di counter for dia small shops (Patent stores) e say na Nafdac work and dem get dia own act, but surely penalty dey, especially wit di new Pharmacies Council Bill wey get strong penalties for pipo wey dis dey hide dey sell dis banned substances.
‘We don arrest ova 50,000 pipo in two years’
Sake of say most of dis illicit substances dey comot from Nigeria and also enta Nigeria through departure points like airports, seaports and land borders, di NDLEA boss tok say dem dey give dis drug traffickers and baron hard time, sake of say dia men tanda gidigba dey wait for them through di use of intelligence.
“We don crackdown very successfully and professionally for di airports, seaports and departure points for di land borders and e dey hard for dem to escape us now carry dis tins go abroad or bring am in.”
Im tok say according to wetin di ambassador of Thai tell am wen im come visit am, before 2021 na 800 Nigerians dey for dia prison and now na about 200 and e dey very significant.
“Di tori say wey dey arrest only di drug barons and leaders of cartels wey no gree settle us na lie. In two years, we don arrest ova 50,000 pipo, 48 of dem na drug barons, court don convict some, while some of dem still dey face trial, di drug barons no dey find am easy wit us”
Im add say di NDLEA no dey only chase drug barons but dem dey seize dia assets (properties) too.
On wetin dey happen to di drugs wey NDLEA dey seize from smugglers and peddlers, oga Marwa say even though dem don dey chook eye to see how dem go create alternative use for dem, di drugs dey useless to any pharmaceutical needs.
“Once court don tok say make we destroy dem, we go destroy dem.”
‘Our men dey work with di law’
On di accuse wey some kontri pipo dey sama NDLEA say dia men dey do raids like criminals, oga Marwa tok say, “our men dey professionally trained, we no dey just jump enta pipo house or motor, we dey do am according to di law.” Im tok.
“We dey beg Nigerians to report any drug abuse mata, drug peddling, smuggling, drug trafficking wey dem know or hear about, dis fight na for evribodi, if dem come report to us we no go arrest dem but we go go afta di criminals”
Hope dey for Nigerians wey dey prison for abroad sake of drugs?
About Nigerians wey dey face drug peddling cases abroad, those wey dey prison and wey dey face death sentence, Oga Marwa tok say di NDLEA dey work wit di Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Di Ministry dey give dem data for dia review and for some cases, Nigeria dey bargain wit foreign kontris for prisoner exchange. However double jeopardy no dey again.
“Once any Nigeria dey jail for any kontri and im serve im sentence dem no go try am for di same offence again.”
Im say dem dey inform dem about executions (pipo wey dey death row wey dem wan kill) especially for Saudi Arabia.
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