Caption: From second left, Strategic Commander, Apapa Command of the NDLEA, Buba Wakawa and the Strategic Commander, Tincan Island Port, Callys Alumona, during the grand finale of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Lagos on Thursday
Lagos – National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Apapa Command, said it had seized 14 containers with different types of psychotropic drugs in the last one year, breaking the distribution cycle of illicit drugs.
The Assistant Commander General of Narcotics, Buba Wakawa (ACGN), made this known during the joint grand finale by Apapa and Tin-Can Strategic Seaport Commands of NDLEA.
The programme was in commemoration of the 2025 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with the theme: “The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention. Break the Cycle”.
Every June 26 is set aside by the United Nations to create awareness on the dangers of drug abuse and illicit trafficking and its rippling effects on the health, economy, and security of society.
Wakawa said notable among the drugs seized were 744,635 bottles of codeine-based syrups and 36,652,460 tablets of Tramadol with a gross weight of 131,920.7 kg.
The commander said that the cycle could be broken and together, they could make it happen.
He said that the agency had one common enemy, the drug dealers and peddlers who were ever ready to break the law for wealth, create the monster of insecurity, and jeopardise the entire health of the nation.
“Let me state, we are not unmindful that the maritime sector is a major global source of wealth and revenue generation for every nation, as well as a veritable means of bulky transportation of goods and services.
“However, we must secure the process from unscrupulous elements taking control and turning it into a safe haven for illicit drug business.
“Painfully, psychotropic substances of abuse such as Tramadol and cough syrups with codeine that were medically produced to treat and remedy health issues have been turned into recreational drugs.
“This was to get high, enhance performance, and social pleasure without medical reason. We will not tolerate this in the maritime corridors,” he said.
Wakawa said that the 2018 UN Drugs Survey estimated that 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 to 64 had used drugs in the preceding years.
He said the theme for the year was, therefore, apt as it was also consistent with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), a novel idea and brainchild of its visionary leader, the Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa.
In his view, Dr Omotayo Ajirotutu, Medical Psychologist, Federal Psychiatrist Yaba, said an average private treatment of government hospitals costs between N800,000 to N1.5 million per month to treat patients affected with drug abuse.
Ajirotutu lamented that the cost of treating patients was expensive, thereby calling on every parent to be observant, monitor, and relate with their children and know what they were doing and the friends they keep.
The psychologist said that it starts from home because parents were supposed to teach moral values while teachers were supposed to teach subjects.
He, therefore, called for collaborative efforts by the law enforcement agencies, the churches, mosques, and NGOs, to reach out to the communities, constituencies, and wards because these damages were much.
Also, Mr Callys Alumona, Tin Can Island Strategy Port, said the command has been able to break the supply chain, adding that between June 2024 to date, the command had mopped up over 30 tonnes of illicit drugs, which include Tramadol and cocaine.
Alumona said that the command had worked with the British Border Force and international agencies to get intelligence because without this, it could not know what was going on.
He said some of these ships transcend from several countries to bring in these illicit substances into the country’s shores.
Alumona noted that the command would continue to mop it up before it gets to the shores of Nigeria.
In his goodwill message, Customs Area Controller, Apapa Customs Command, Comptroller, Babatunde Olomu, who was represented by Deputy Comptroller Administration, HA Eromobor, said the service would not relent on its efforts in ensuring zero tolerance for smuggling of illicit substances.
Eromobor urged Nigerians to support the government in the fight against illicit drugs to discourage the economic saboteurs from illegal operations.
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