Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has advocated strict enforcement of drug related laws to check the rising cases of drug abuse in the country.
The Governor made the call on Tuesday at the public destruction of over ninety thousand kilograms of illicit drugs, made up of mainly canabis sativa, by the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Isa road, Ogwashi Uku, Delta state.
Governor Okowa, who was represented by the state commissioner for Youth Development, Honourable Oghenekaro Ilolo, noted that drug addiction among youths had assumed an alarming dimension, describing the situation as retrogressive to the society.
He commended the state command of the NDLEA for giving drug abuse in Delta state a big fight, which led to the seizure of the large quantity of drugs destroyed.
Governor Okowa called on the NDLEA to step up its sensitisation drive to adequately educate the people on the dangers of drug abuse, stressing that the communities should be actively involved if the campaign must yield the desired result.
The Governor pledged the continued support of the state government for the Agency in order to rid the state of illicit drugs. The chairman of the NDLEA, retired Colonel Muhammad Abdallah, expressed regret that the cultivation and production of drugs had been on the increase despite the concerted efforts of the federal and state governments to address the scourge.
Colonel Abdallah noted that since after the destruction of over fifty four thousand kilograms of drugs in the state in 2012, drug seizure till date had increased tremendously, adding that the biggest clandestine laboratory for the manufacture of methamphetamine, which posed serious danger to humans and the environment, was discovered in Asaba in 2016.
The NDLEA Chief Executive said the Agency was currently prosecuting four Mexicans and four Nigerian collaborators at the Federal High Court Asaba in connection with the rediscovery and urged members of the public to join in the fight against illicit drugs.
The state commander of the NDLEA, Mr Obiefulu Chidi, said the command was focused and committed to stopping drug dealers, who he described as merchants of death and solicited public support.
He regretted that the dealers were driven mainly by profit motives as against the consequences of their actions on the society.
The highlight of the occasion was the setting on fire of the large heap of drug exhibits by the Governor and some of the dignitaries present.
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