LSSTF, NDLEA move beyond arrests to tackle drug abuse, empower youths - The Guardian Nigeria News
The sight of billions of naira worth of seized drugs piled up for destruction left the Lagos State Security Trust Fund’s Campaign Against Crime, Cultism and Other Vices (LSSTF-CACCOV) State Coordinator, Dr Moses Oladimeji, with a troubling question: how much of the drug crisis can be solved by arrests and seizures alone? That question is now driving a new partnership between LSSTF-CACCOV and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Lagos Strategic Command, aimed at strengthening prevention, public education, rehabilitation and youth empowerment. During a courtesy visit to the NDLEA Lagos Strategic Headquarters in Ikoyi, Oladimeji said the scale of illicit drugs seized in the state showed that enforcement must be complemented by sustained efforts to prevent young people from becoming victims of addiction and drug-related crime. Recalling an NDLEA event where drugs worth more than N3.1 billion were destroyed, he said the experience underscored the magnitude of the challenge. “When you see the amount of drugs that was piled up to be burnt, you begin to ask yourself: where are these things coming from, and how are we going to solve this issue?” he said. Oladimeji said drug abuse was closely linked to insecurity, violent crime and cultism, warning that young people needed alternatives, education and support rather than condemnation. He said LSSTF-CACCOV had already taken its preventive campaign to institutions, including Yaba College of Technology and the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, reaching more than 3,000 students since its establishment on February 28. According to him, the initiative is built around empathy, education and meaningful engagement. He proposed that the NDLEA and LSSTF-CACCOV document the stories of people who had successfully overcome addiction through rehabilitation and use their experiences to encourage others to seek help. Responding, the Commander, NDLEA Lagos Strategic Command, Assistant Commander General of Narcotics, ACGN Abubakar Liman Wali, said the agency had expanded its focus beyond arrests and prosecution to prevention, sensitisation and rehabilitation. He explained that Lagos was upgraded from a state command to a strategic command because of its importance as Nigeria’s commercial hub and the presence of major seaports, airports and border routes. Wali said tackling drug trafficking and abuse in Lagos would have wider national implications, stressing that prevention was less costly than dealing with addiction after it had taken hold.
He disclosed that the Lagos Command had only six functional operational vehicles, three of which were provided through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, and appealed for continued support.
Wali also called for collaboration on campus security training, school counselling, psychological support and student-led advocacy clubs, noting that young people often respond better when preventive messages come from their peers.
He said each NDLEA area command in Lagos was expected to conduct at least 10 sensitisation programmes monthly in schools, communities, faith-based organisations and marketplaces.
The partnership, he said, provides an opportunity for both organisations to combine enforcement with prevention and recovery support in the fight against drug abuse.
