The Apapa Special Area Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Inalegwu Ameh fielding questions from journalists at the press briefing.
Story by Dili Utomi.
The authorities at the Apapa Specia Area Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in its resolve to reduce the illicit import, sale and use of drugs has embarked on a week of awareness campaign in order to re-emphasise its War Against Drug Abuse. The Commander of the unit, Mr. Inalegwu Ameh in a press conference held this morning in the agency’s office inside the Apapa Port Complex stated that “This is to commemorate the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. June 26 of every year has been designated by the United Nations to commemorate the drug day and all segments of society are urged to adopt actions that sensitize their immediate communities aimed at achieving a World free of Drug use and trafficking”.
He noted that the theme for this year’s commemoration “Addressing Drug Challenges in Health and Humanitarian Crises” is not only as topical as it is thought provoking but consistent with the spirit and letter of the War against Drug Abuse (WADA) . Mr. Ameh noted that the theme urges us to critically interrogate the mechanisms for mitigating the availability, accessibility and affordability of drugs if we must guaranty sound health and favourable human conditions in our communities”. He says that available records show that drug use account for most of the health problems while it aggravates conflicts, crime and criminalities and problems of insecurity, generally.
” The Apapa Port Special Area Command has seized the initiative to embark on some activities that will increase awareness and knowledge of the potential health, social and legal consequences of illicit drug use and provide accurate information on illicit drug habituation. This we intend to carry out within the Port and the host communities of Apapa, Ijora and Amuwo-Odofin where the maritime operations are concentrated”, the Commander enthused.
Group Photograph of officers and journalists at the event.
The Commander indicated that as part of the activities of the awareness week, the Command will in the next seven days be reaching out to all categories within the aforementioned communities. Starting with this Press Briefing, there will be a Walk against Drugs through the streets of Apapa on Tuesday June 21, 2022. A group of parents will be gathered at the Apapa Local Government Secretariat for an anti-drug sensitization on Wednesday June 22, 2022. This will be followed up on Thursday June 23, 2022 with a Student Forum/Symposium, an in-gathering of students from various schools to be mentored by an internationally recognized Drug Prevention Expert. In deference to the faith based approach, all the worship centres within the communities are being urged to devote their sermons to the consequences of drug use and illicit drug trafficking in the Juma’at and Church services on Friday and Sunday within the week.
The NDLEA Command has also be known to have over the past two months engaged a lot of stakeholders within the Maritime sector to educate them about the inherent dangers of drug trafficking and abuse. It is a generally accepted view that there is currently a high incidence of substance abuse in the country and that a lot of awareness among other actions are needed to curb the menace.
In a question and answer session, the Commander said that he commends celebrities in the society who help in educating and informing the populace about the dangers of drug trafficking and abuse. He added that the war against this menace can be worn with the kind of frontal approach that they have adopted in tackling the problems as spearheaded by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig.Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.) who he said has declared a personal war against the menace. He said that last year, there was an in-house sanitisation campaign with the urine samples of all the officers of the agency taken and tested for drugs, this he says is a testament to the seriousness of the agency to clean itself up while trying to rid the society of illicit drugs. Mr. Ameh also added that drug traffickers who have been previously caught are undergoing the process of prosecution at the courts.
For advert placement and more information, please call us on 08027590185, 08035721540 or email us @ greatalternativenigltd@gmail.com
