The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Wednesday, publicly destroyed 25 tonnes of seized hard drugs in Kogi Stste.
The NDLEA Chairman, Retired Brig.- Gen. Mohammed Marwa, who made the disclosure during the exercise held near Confluence Beach Hotel, Ganaja Village in Lokoja, described it as “very satisfactory.”
Marwa, representated by the Director of General Operation and Investigation, Alhaji Suleiman Ahmed-Ningi, said, “the 25 tonne set ablaze were assorted drugs recovered from those that resolved to destroy our youths – men and women.”
“This is because the recovered drugs were intended to be sold to the public, thereby causing damage to their health and to increase the rates of crimes and criminality in our society.
“There is no doubt that there is a symbiotic relationship between the quantities of drugs being abused and the high rate of crime and criminality in our families, communities, states and country at large.
“To avert these fatal consequences is the reason behind NDLEA’s robust operational activities in general and particularly Kogi State Command, leading to these huge drug seizures amounting to 25 tonnes that would go up in flames today.”
In his remarks, Gov Ahmed Ododo of Kogi State, commended the tireless efforts and commitment of the personnel of NDLEA in fighting the drug war in the country and kogi in particular.
Ododo, who spoke through the State Security Adviser, Retired Commodore Jerry Omodara, urged the agency to strengthen the war against hard drug by employing more personnel in the state.
The governor described Kogi as the gateway through which dangerous drugs passes enroute both the Northern and Southern parts of the country.
He pledged more collaboration with the agency to ensure that the wings of drug abusers and traffickers are clipped
Earlier, the NDLEA Commander in Kogi, Alhaji Umar Yahuza, thanked the chairman of the agency and Gov. Ododo for their support to the command in its fight against illicit drugs in the state
Yahuza explained that the 25 tonnes of drugs destroyed included Cannabis Sativa, Tramadol, Diazepam, Methamphetamine, Rohypnol, Cocaine, Codeine and many more.
He called on the general public to join the agency in the drug war, stressing that the agency alone could not do it. (NAN)
