A total 158 Nigerians are waiting to be executed over drugs related offences in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, the Senate said on Tuesday.
Moving a motion tagged: “Nigerians involvement in illicit global drugs trade and increase in domestic drug abuse by Nigerian youth”, Senator Gbenga B. Ashafa (APC, Lagos East) said 120 of persons are in China.
He said 30 are in Malaysia, seven in Indonesia and one in Singapore and that six Nigerians were executed for drugs related offences last year.
He noted that the Malaysian authorities have again issued a strong statement that 40 percent of the foreigners being arrested for drug offences are from Nigeria.
Student disguise
He observed that in their desperation, Nigerians are disguising as “university students”, colluding with drug syndicates to undermine the visa system and gain entrance into Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other drug traffic routes.
“On getting there, they abandon the education agenda and get busy with their illicit and illegal drug business activities; trading in opiates, cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines," he said.
He said that the Federal Government has not swung into strategic action to curb the menace of drug couriers and their sponsors both in and out of Nigeria.
He noted that the incidence of young Nigerians abusing substances including Codeine, Rochephenol, Tramadol, heroin, Cannabis Sativa (Indian Hemp) and even different grades of crack cocaine have become prevalent in across the country.
Traffickers and couriers
He said Nigeria topped the list of the countries involved in drug trafficking and drug use in West Africa’s and also the list of drug couriers arrested in Europe in 2011 and 2012.
Contributing to the motion, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North) said the rates at which housewives are abusing drugs are alarming.
“We need to do something about, it has gone beyond youth and now it is very prevalent among married women. Women who are in charge of upbringing of children are now drugs addicts,” he said.
The Senate however urged the Federal Government to restructure and reposition the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to be able to meet the challenges of evasive drug traffickers using Nigerians to traffic drugs.
