By Ahmed Ahmed
Bauchi State Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed has charged the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Command to arrest and prosecute drug barons, dealers operating in the state.
Mohammed made the call when the NDLEA State Commander, Ali Aminu paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Bauchi.
He charged the Agency to ensure that any dealer, baron, merchant caught were properly prosecuted so that, “It will be the last deal of his life. Enough of this, they are not bigger than the law of Nigeria.”
He agreed that drug abuse is increasing in the state, charged that,”You need to stem the tide of sarasuka in the state, they cannot just be cutting hands under the influence of drug abuse and go Scott free.”
According to him, “We want you to go after the marchants, those that are in the business of supply, they can’t be bigger than the law, don’t only prosecute the takers, prosecute the sellers, if you arrest any dealer, make sure that is the end of his business for life.”
”We know the importance of your Agency, we know what you are here to do for us, as an Agency, we are always looking up to you to support the government in the efforts to ensure that the state is drug free in terms of abuse and trafficking.”
”We will always give you the opportunity to come and interact. I listened with rapt attention to the activities of the Agency since you came on board, and some of the numbers and statistics are not very encouraging but it is better for us to know the blatant truth than to be hidden.”
”It is because Bauchi is a state that is a gateway to about 7 states and gateway to 3 zones of the country, North-East, North-Central and North-West, so, it is in the middle. As a gateway, we are carriers or we are users of the banned drugs.” Mohammmed said
The Governor added that,”We want a routine of burning all these drugs that you have seized because we have not done it for a long time,
” I want to be invited as soon as possible. There is the need for visibility and transparency, we will do our best to make sure we provide minimum comfort for you even though you have your headphones in Abuja. So far, NDLEA is doing well over here.”
Earlier, the NDLEA Commander, Ali Aminu explained that the Agency is charged with the responsibilities of elimination of drug abuse, manufacturing, trafficking and use of illicit drugs in Nigeria.
He said that Substance abuse has emerged as a significant challenge among the younger generation, affecting individuals mental wellbeing and physically, relationships and general social life.
According to him, “The recent national survey on drugs use and health 2018 shows that youths’ involvement in drug abuse, especially in our schools, has taken a frightening dimension.
“By virtue of my position as NDLEA State Commander, I can say with confidence that the level of drug use in the state is very high and the consequences too are very high.”
Aminu said that,”this calls for concerted efforts by all to protect our loved ones. But, where do we start from, we found out that our youths Constitute the highest risk group and always the initiator group.”
