The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has announced that a special task force has been set up across Nigeria to track and dismantle drug cartels behind the production and distribution of methamphetamine, popularly called Mkpuru Mmiri.
NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) said this while fielding questions from journalists at the Agency’s national headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
He advised communities across the country to set up committees to flush out those encouraging drug abuse in their domain.
He said: “If you look at the preponderance of the dealers in drugs, I am not saying anything new, but the South East has the predominance, and that is a fact.
“Clearly, in the South East region, they are doing two things; first, they are telling their fellow travellers who are not decent, that they are spoiling their names and more importantly, they are riding their communities of drug abuse, they have taken ownership of the war themselves against drug abuse especially against Mkpuru-Mmiri.”
He encouraged Nigerians to take the war against illicit drugs personally by identifying those who sell and hawk them in their communities.
“This war against drug abuse has to start from the bottom, from the communities; set up your War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, Committees. In every community, you know those patent medicine stores that sell drugs, the mai shayi, those at the corner ends of the streets who sell and hawk drugs, you know the traffickers, and you know those who use them. “
“Take this war to your communities because you know these people, cleanse your communities, and take the ownership of this war, and the NDLEA will always be there to back you up.
“However, the NDLEA doesn’t and will not support the flogging of the culprits and some of the other human rights abuses. We will be there to support with counselling and treatments,” NDLEA Chairman said.
