30 million Nigerians will be on drugs by 2050 if…— Marwa

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mohammed Buba Marwa, said on Monday at least 30 million Nigerians would be on drugs by 2050 if trafficking and other related activities are not addressed by the government.

Marwa, according to a statement issued by NDLEA, stated this at a meeting with men and officers of the agency in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The NDLEA chief also met religious leaders and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state.

According to him, 90 percent of crimes perpetrated in Nigeria including banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, and rape, were influenced by drugs.

Marwa said: “Our society is a religious one and as such our religious leaders must use their privileged position to make the campaign against drug abuse part of their sermons in the churches and mosques.

READ ALSO: Nigeria now global leader in drug trafficking –US report

“I want you to come out with a loud voice against the menace because if we don’t all rise up against the menace now, by 2050, not less than 30 million Nigerians will be on drugs and that is too dangerous for the future of this great country.”

He urged the NURTW leaders to mobilise their members against using drugs and transporting same for traffickers.

“NURTW must cut out the use of drugs and their transportation by its members across the country. For us in NDLEA, we are going all out for the small and the big; both the users, traffickers, and barons.

“The arrest in Lagos last week of a baron who has been on the run for 10 years confirms that we’ll not spare anyone, no matter how long they have been in the trade, they can no longer hide from the long arms of the law,” he added.

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