By Thompson ABISOLA
An NGO, Vanguard against Drug Abuse (VGADA), has urged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to intensify campaigns against drug abuse in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
President of VGADA, Dr Hope Abraham, made the plea on Tuesday in Abuja.
Abraham said that many Nigerians were ignorant of the effect of hard drugs to their health.
According to him, trafficking, smuggling, distributing or consuming illicit drugs constitute crime.
Abraham said that NDLEA had been championing campaigns against drug and substance abuse in recent times, but needed to do more.
“I want to challenge NDLEA to step up additional campaigns to enable citizens to make informed decisions when it comes to issues relating to drugs.
“Substance abuse has been on the rise in recent times. Many Nigerians are ignorant of the consequences of peddling drugs or substances.
“People should be educated about punishments that await them if caught selling or buying drugs and substances like cocaine, marijuana, among others,“ he said.
The organisation president explained that though there were laws guiding the use and sale of hard drugs and substances in the country, the degree of castigation for offences related to this varied.
Abraham noted that educating citizens about those laws and the health effects of using drugs, would help to address the increasing numbers of Nigerians smuggling or abusing drugs.
He added that enlightenment would also help to address cases of citizens being arrested or killed abroad due to drug peddling.
