The Niger State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has sealed up the Oyoyo Filling Station along Kaduna Abuja Road in Suleja on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Mr. Musa Bwalin, the State Commander of the NDLEA, revealed that the filling station was being used to store Indian hemp for trafficking.
He said that the security man and some staff of the filling station have been taken into custody for further investigation, after which they will be taken to court for Prosecution.
Addressing Journalists at a news briefing to mark this year's International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at the command headquarters in Minna Friday, Mr. Musa Bwalin explained that the command had in the year under review arrested a total of 250 suspected drug dealers, out of whom it secured 64 convicts.
He stated that the agency has so far arrested a total of 31,675 suspected drug-related offenders across the country, out of which 5,147 were convicted of various Jail terms within the last year.
According to the state commander, 1,2072 kilograms of illicit drugs were recovered, while another 2,272 kilograms of Indian hemp were intercepted by his men in Suleja Area Command, adding that the Indian hemp was to be transported to Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory.
The state commander of the agency further told Journalists that the command recovered a total of 2,218.02 kilograms of Indian hemp in Niger State through various raids on some identified black spots where the illicit substance had been consumed.
The 2023 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, with the theme People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention, "admonished the society to stop stigmatising drug addicts but " bring them close to the society so as for them to have a sense of belonging.
He appealed to the members of the Public to desist from stigmatizing those that are into drugs, explaining that society is in the habit of looking down on those that are into taking drugs, stressing that stigmatizing them will not help them, "rather it will make them more addicted to the drugs".
"Let me admonish members of society to desist from stigmatizing those who are into drugs. By stigmatizing them, you make them more addicted to it. "Don't look down on them; see them as part of society. Bring them close to you. Give them words of advice and let them know the dangers of taking drugs. By doing so, they will see reason and stay away from taking drugs," he reiterated Speaking further, the NDLEA state commander requested the Niger Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umar Bago, to assist the state command of the agency with operational vehicles to enable them to rid the state of sales and consumption of illicit drugs, assuring that the command will continue to make the state inhabitable for drug merchants. While commending traditional rulers for their unflinching support for the agency in the state, Musa Bwani insisted that his command will continue to live up to its statutory responsibility of ensuring a drug-free Niger State at all times.