Gom Mirian
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), has issued a stern warning against internal sabotage in the renewed war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
Brig. Gen. Marwa gave this warning during the passing out ceremony of an additional 2,500 cadets of the Senior Officers Basic Course 16.
The ceremony, which took place on Thursday at the NDLEA Academy in Jos, Plateau State, marked the completion of the addition of 5,000 new personnel to the NDLEA workforce.
Represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Victoria Egbase, the NDLEA Chairman charged the new cadets to make their impact felt in the agency’s efforts to curtail the activities of drug traffickers and other purveyors of illicit drugs.
He said, “Today’s passing out ceremony, coming after months of rigorous training, is one of the manifestations of the ongoing restructuring in the agency.
“Having another batch of 5, 000 officers to strengthen our workforce will assuredly give the needed impetus to the fight against the abuse and trafficking of illicit substances. In the tradition of our noble organisation and according to global best practices, this batch of officers has been trained to be efficient drug law enforcement agents.
“They have spent the past four months in training, where they have learnt the intricacies of drug law enforcement and know that their job demands sacrifice, loyalty, and discipline. I do not doubt that they are aware of their position as an important cog in the law and order system of society.
“We have seen the truth come back full circle in the past few weeks, whereby some of the world’s known abusers of cannabis have come out to tell the public they are either quitting or have been diagnosed with some ailment, notably emphysema, which puts them at risk of early death and mental harm. That should further add impetus to our collective effort to rid our society of the menace of cannabis and other such dangerous substances.
“For us in NDLEA, we hold our duty sacrosanct, and we must do everything within the ambit of the law to cleanse our society of the menace of illicit substances”, he stated.
“We have shifted gears to become proactive by creating several goal-oriented programmes and efficient mechanisms, such as Offensive Action and War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy,” Marwa added.
