The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has urged its personnel to continue the fight against illicit drugs, saying the war is a generational responsibility that demands resilience and long-term commitment.
The call was made in Abuja by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.), while honoring 274 personnel for outstanding performance.
The 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards ceremony also honored 18 best-performing commands and 19 non-governmental and media organizations for their contributions to Nigeria’s campaign against drug abuse.
The threat from drugs continued to change as trafficking networks created new routes and ways to avoid law enforcement, Marwa said.
“The war on illicit drugs is not a campaign with an end date. “It’s a generational duty,” he said.
“For every cartel we knock down, intelligence says another will try to rise. “Every corridor we close, traffickers will find another route,” he added.
“The persistent nature of drug trafficking, the NDLEA chief said, requires the sustained commitment of the agency and its partners.
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He stressed that drug trafficking and substance abuse could not be defeated thru enforcement alone, and highlighted the important roles played by civil society organizations and the media.
According to him, civil society groups help to prevent addiction and support vulnerable young people in communities, while journalists help to draw public attention to trafficking routes, rehabilitation efforts and families rebuilding their lives after addiction.
“Enforcement alone was never going to win the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse,” Marwa said.
He said civil society and media organizations had a multiplier effect on the agency’s efforts, taking anti-drug messages into homes, schools and communities.
Marwa cited recent operations, including the dismantling of the Amadi Simon drug cartel and two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating in forests in Ogun and Oyo states.
He also disclosed the disruption of a tramadol cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor which he said had contributed to opioid abuse among Nigerian youths for years.
“These were not simple attacks. “These were the result of patient intelligence-gathering, cross-border co-operation and officers willing to go where the criminals thot no one would follow,” he said.
Marwa advised the award winners to take the award as a benchmark to emulate and not a ceiling to their performance.
He also urged civil society organizations and media groups to see the recognition as a challenge to step up their campaign against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
The NDLEA chairman congratulated all the awardees and thanked Nigerians for continuing to repose their trust in the agency as it confronts the country’s persistent challenges of drug trafficking and substance abuse.
