NDLEA To Partner Kwara SWAN On Awareness Of Drug Abuse

Youths now glamorize illicit drug use says NDLEA Commander

Mohammed Bashir Ibrahim, Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Kwara State Command, has promised to make the agency more visible in sports events as a way of drug trafficking control.

Ibrahim stated this on Tuesday when a group of journalists under the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, (SWAN), Kwara State chapter paid him courtesy call at the state head office in Ilorin.

According to him, the decision is borne out of recent challenges faced in policing drug traffickers in Kwara State.

Speaking on the danger it poses to sports, the NDLEA Commander added that youths are especially vulnerable to drug abuse because, according to him, “youths tend to glamorize drug use.”

“Matters are not helped when adults, handlers of athletes tend to sell them the drugs.

“We recently secured conviction of a coach who was selling drugs to young athletes in his care,” he said.

The NDLEA Commander also revealed grim scenario in drug law enforcement in state, saying that use and supply of synthetic cannabis, modified form of Indian Hemp, is now prevalent among drug abusers.

He added that more women appear to be involved in the supply chain of the banned substances like the synthetic cannabis.

Speaking on behalf of journalists at the NDLEA office, Ayodeji Ismail, Chairman Kwara SWAN, said that Sports Writers are very much aware of the dangers drug abuse pose to sports and youth development.

“We like to retool our members to properly report these in our bits,” he said.

He also pleaded that NDLEA should always make their presence felt at sports events.

“Your presence will help keep drug traffickers away from our athletes,” he said.

SWAN is seeking collaboration in capacity building in the area of drugs and sports to further enhance their reportorial skills.

Kwara state according to data from United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, has drug trafficking prevalence of 13 percent, highest in the whole of north central Nigeria.

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Michael Odetunde

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Odetunde Michael Sunday is a Journalist of his generation. He combines the talent and ability of Print, Online and Broadcast Journalist in a rare manner.

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