Why NDLEA is going after cartels, drug barons’ assets

•UNODC canvasses school-based prevention approach

Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), yesterday, justified the decision of the anti-narcotics body to go after assets of drug barons and traffickers as part of an ongoing offensive against illicit drugs and cartels.

He explained this at a press conference in Abuja to kick off activities to celebrate the 2024 International Day Against Drugs and Illicit Trafficking, in conjunction with other stakeholders like the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Marwa noted: “Our offensive action against drug cartels and traffickers, launched in January 2021, has to date continued to yield the desired result with the arrests and prosecutions of several barons.

“Apart from convictions, the assets of the convicts used as instrumentality of the crime or the proceeds derived from the crime would be forfeited to the Federal Government. Indeed, a civil action could be maintained against assets reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime in which case the burden of proving the licit origin of the assets would be on the defendant who claims ownership of the asset.”

This diligent and painstaking preparation of investigations and prosecutions explains the success of the high conviction rate.”

Represented by the Secretary, Mr Shadrach Haruna, the Chairman said the agency’s flagship programme, War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), built on ‘the whole of society approach’ to preventive action against drug abuse, has been a tremendous success as an effective tool of advocacy for social action and an awareness-driven vehicle for public engagement and collaboration against illicit trafficking and abuse, which he said aligns with the theme for the 2024 World Drug Day (WDD.)

Marwa observed that the global event, celebrated every June 26 “is an important day for the global community, and an occasion during which current efforts against illicit drug problems are given policy direction for the next 12 months.”

In his remarks, UNODC Country Deputy Representative, Danilo Campisi, called on the government at all levels and other stakeholders in Nigeria to invest in drug use preventive measures to avoid a 40 per cent rise in the population of drug users in the country, especially the youth population.

His words: “Projections show that by 2030, there will be a 40 per cent increase in the use of drugs in Africa, based on the population of young people. This is extremely concerning if we consider that 2030 is only six years away.”

He said UNODC has worked with the “Government of Nigeria to adapt and implement evidence-based prevention measures which include the highly successful UNPLUGGED, a school-based Drug Prevention Programme implemented together with the Federal Ministry of Education, in 110 Unity Schools and a few states in the country, notably Kebbi, Bayelsa and recently, Kaduna, on the initiative of the governments in these states.”

Campisi explained that the school-based drug preventive approach has proven to be highly successful in curbing drug and substance use among participating students.