NDLEA Arrests 1,247 Drug Offenders 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Edo state command has said that it has arrested no fewer than 1,247 suspected drug criminals.

Naija News reports that the NDLEA in the state revealed that the large number were arrested between 2015 and 2018.

The State Commander of the agency, Buba Wakawa, who disclosed this in the Benin office, the Edo state capital, also revealed that the Command also seized 186,501kg of various narcotic drugs and gave the figures of cannabis plantation destroyed as 164.6 hectares under the period ben reviewed.

Buba made this known in a statement made available to Naija News at the inaugural meeting of the Edo State Drug Control Committee (ESDCC).

He furthered that a total of 726 persons with drug abuse problem have been counselled so far, while 15 drug dealers were convicted at the Federal High Court in Benin.

According to him, “We can change the negative narrative of cannabis plantation to food production in Edo State. We can also reduce the number of school dropouts, reduce the rate of criminal activities thus preventing cultism and promoting sound health.”

Buba noted that the Nigerian government had taken a major step by developing the National Drug Control Master Plan in 1999.

The plan, according to Buba seeks to address the disparity between law enforcement and drug demand reduction.

“The current master plan 2015 to 2019 is a product of extensive consultation with stakeholders, thus lending credence to the fact that the Agency cannot win the fight alone,” he said.