By Ajuma Edwina Ogiri
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has said globally an estimated 200, 000 people die yearly due to drug abuse.
Chairman/ Chief Executive of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, disclosed this at the dissemination of the 2013 report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the 2014 world drug report, yesterday, in Abuja.
Giade said most of these preventable deaths occur among youths, adding that those who died of the substance abuse cut across age, sex, religion and social status.
He added that drug production and drug production, trafficking and abuse “represents one of the biggest security challenges confronting humanity today.”
He said: “The situation is so frightening that an urgent intervention is needed for a guaranteed global peace and development.
“Drug is a catalyst to crime. Most criminal acts are perpetrated under the influence of drugs. The case of the undergraduate that killed the father in Ogun state has been linked to drugs.”
The NDLEA boss said in response to the looming threat posed by illicit drugs “is working towards the total dismantling of drug trafficking syndicates in the country, adding that their undercover operations have culminated in the closure of six methamphetamine production laboratories in the country.”
In her remarks, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Representative in Nigeria, Mariam Sissoko, said there were serious gaps in the way drug abuse was treated, adding that “only one in six drug users around the world receive the drug dependence treatment they need.”
She said: ‘”I am pleased to report that UNODC in Nigeria has engaged with the Federal Ministry of Health and key national institutions, with financial support from the European Union, to increase the service provision for drug addiction treatment.”
Also speaking, the Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, said the reports would enhance the principle of shared responsibility among drug regulatory authorities and between countries in tackling the menace of drug abuse, misuse, trafficking and other vices.
