The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command, says the war against illicit drugs and trafficking in Nigeria is yielding positive results.
The Commander of Narcotics (CN) FCT commander, Kabir Tsakuwa, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
Tsakuwa said that the Federal Government had been doing a lot to ensure the country was free of illicit drug abuse and trafficking through all three arms of government.
He said that about 2,500 cadets were undergoing training at the Regional Academy for Drug Control in Jos presently.
He also said that another 2,500 cadets had just concluded training as Narcotic Agents and Narcotic Assistants at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) College in Katsina.
This, he said, was all in order to boost the manpower of the agency to fight the menace bedeviling the territory.
He said, “Just in September, the agency, with the full support of the Federal Government, hosted the 31st meeting of all Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa (HONLAF) in Abuja.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu further reassured NDLEA, the nation, and the international community of his commitment to the country’s fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking as he assured the provision of tools to the agency.
“The proposed amendment of the Agency Act, which is in its final stage at the National Assembly, will further boost the country’s fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
“The effort will also discourage illicit drug trafficking, as the amendments will come with stringent punitive measures for drug offences.
“This singular effort shows the extraordinary commitment of the federal government in the fight against drug menace.
“This is through its legislative arm, bearing in mind that the drug trafficking trend is dynamic, hence the need for amendments in our legal framework from time to time, “he said.
Tsakuwa explained that the command had also been receiving a lot of unflinching support from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
This, he added, had helped the agency in ensuring the territory and some black spots were riddled of drug peddlers while appreciating the FCTA for their support of the NDLEA FCT Command.
Tsakuwa reassured the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, of the command’s readiness and commitment to rid the FCT and its environment of drug abuse and illicit trade.
He said, ‘When the minister assumed office, he said, security of FCT is one of his topmost priorities.
“Having established that drugs have a nexus with other criminalities, ranging from terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, etc, the command will continue to effectively play its critical role in achieving the overall security of the FCT,” he said.
The NDLEA boss said that the command also enjoys a robust relationship with the judiciary, as all the agency’s cases are attended to in a timely manner by the judges.
Tsakuwa said that it had made it possible to achieve the level of conviction recorded by the command within the year.
“We shall continue to leverage our cordial relationship to record more arrests and seizures for the overall safety of the Federal Capital,” he said.