The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has urged its staff to maintain the war against illicit drugs, saying the war is a generational responsibility that requires resilience and long-term commitment.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) made the call in Abuja while honoring 274 personnel for outstanding performance.
The 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards ceremony also acknowledged 18 commands and 19 non-governmental and media organizations for their roles in Nigeria’s fight against drug abuse.
The drug threat kept evolving, Marwa said, as trafficking networks came up with new routes and methods to evade law enforcement.
War on drugs is not a campaign with a completion date. “It’s a responsibility of the generations,” he said.
“Intelligence says every time we knock down a cartel, another will try to rise. “For every corridor we shut down traffickers will find another route,” he added.
“Drug trafficking remains a persistent problem that requires ongoing dedication by the agency and its partners,” he said.
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He stressed that enforcement alone could not defeat drug trafficking and substance abuse, and said that civil society organizations and the media played an important role.
Civil society groups have an important role to play in preventing addiction and in helping vulnerable young people in communities, while journalists have a role to play in raising public awareness of trafficking routes, rehabilitation and families trying to rebuild their lives after addiction, he said.
“Enforcement alone was not going to win the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse,” said Marwa.
He said civil society and media organizations had a multiplier effect on the agency’s efforts by bringing anti-drug messages into homes, schools and communities.
Marwa pointed to recent operations such as the dismantling of the Amadi Simon drug cartel and the busting of two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating in forests in Ogun and Oyo states.
He also said disruption of a tramadol cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor had been feeding opioid abuse among Nigerian youths for years.
These were not simple raids. “They were the result of patient intelligence collection, cross-border collaboration and officers willing to go where the criminals thot no one would follow,” he said.
Marwa told the award winners to look at the award as a benchmark to be followed and not a cap to their performance.
He also urged civil society organizations and media groups to see the recognition as a boost to intensify their efforts in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
The NDLEA Chairman congratulated the awardees and thanked Nigerians for continuing to repose confidence in the agency in the fight against the persistent drug trafficking and substance abuse challenges in the country.