No Peace, Hiding Place For Drug Barons – NDLEA Boss, Marwa Vows
BY CHINYERE OBIORA – Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Buba Marwa says there will be no peace and hiding place for drug barons unless they all abandon their nefarious activities and turn a new leaf.
General Marwa, who warned that nobody is above the law, said drug peddling has unfortunately given Nigeria a bad name abroad due to the threat posed by drug syndicates, those who aid and abet the crime as well as their sponsors.
He said some Nigerians, who disguised as citizens of other countries, always run to Nigerian embassies to confess and seek help when caught in crimes abroad, noting that the ugly development is seriously tarnishing the country’s image on the global stage.
While acknowledging that drug trafficking is big business for many people, the NDLEA boss lamented that it is currently thriving due to large-scale greed and the ease at which most peddlers fall into temptation as a result of the get-rich-quick syndrome.
This is as he also disclosed that no fewer than 3,434 offenders have been prosecuted by the agency while 126 were presently undergoing counselling in 11 centres attached to psychiatric hospitals nationwide.
General Marwa said the serious challenges being experienced in many homes, households, businesses and marriages can easily be traceable to the high prevalence of drug abuse and addiction among Nigerians, especially the youth population.
According to the former Lagos State Military Administrator, NDLEA is focusing on demand and supply reduction while also steering drug pushers away from crime to productive ventures, adding; “We want those growing cannabis to start growing cash crops.”
The retired general, who also disclosed that a particular drug baron operates 126 bank accounts, thereby beating the record of the notorious kidnapper, Evans, in addition to his chain of properties, further painted a dreadful picture of drug effects in Nigeria today, said it is most worrying that even judges, business tycoons and pilots among other professionals are not insulated from the menace.
Warning that anybody caught will be prosecuted because nobody is above the law, he lamented that many parents now sleep with only one eye closed because they are so afraid of their children who have taken to drugs and other criminal activities.
On the agency’s continuous moves against the illicit drugs trade in the country, Marwa said about 772 hectares of land full of cannabis have so far been destroyed, noting that the drug problem is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.
He said barons in Latin America have hectares of farms for cannabis, adding that they also thread the populist path by engaging in philanthropic activities in education and health and giving succour to members of their communities.
General Marwa, who went down memory lane during his duty call as Lagos state Governor, said it was some years later that it dawned on him the reality of Area boys’ disturbances could easily be traceable to drug-related issues.
Explaining that the NDLEA usually conduct random drug tests on its staff, Marwa expressed regrets that drugs are destroying marriages and motivating people to commit suicide.
For him, the correlation between drugs and broken marriages is real, saying; “Suicide can be traceable to drugs. A student saw a well and said she wanted to swim. She perished. Another in a high-rise building said he could fly. He jumped and died.”
