240,000 Plateau residents abuse drugs – NDLEA

Yusufu Aminu Idegu

The Plateau State commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mustapha Umar, has said not less than 240,000 residents of the state are involved in drug abuse.

Umar said the figure represents 11 per cent of the state population.

The commandant disclosed this to Daily Trust in an interview in Jos.

He said, “The level of drug abuse in Plateau state is 11%, and it’s mostly consumed by people of age 16-64 years old. This 11% translate to 240,000 people, including those who trade in the illicit drugs, those who consumes them and those who cultivate farms in hemp and cannabis.

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“This shows that the level of drug abuse in the state is alarming and scaring because drug abuse is connected to the level of crime.

“The alarming rate of drug trafficking in the state can be seen in the volume of seizures we have made in 2022 which included
633 suspects comprising of 600 males and 32 females. We also made a seizure of about 4 tonnes of assorted drugs.

“The situation is not abating in the new year, it is rather increasing. The more efforts we made to stop it, the more we see the illicit business.

“But the good news is that this remarkable seizure is a proof that we are winning the war, and we are not relenting. Because if you take about 4 tonnes of drug out of circulation, then you have succeeded in reducing crime in the society.”