The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Kwara Command, says a total of 929 people were arrested for hard drug offenses between January and December 2024 in the state.
This was revealed by the State Commander, Fatima Popoola, on Monday during a press conference at the NDLEA headquarters in Ilorin.
Popoola said those arrested included 839 men and 90 women in the state in one year.
He explained that the command carried out a series of activities to suppress the supply and demand of hard drugs, adding that 2,642,103 kilograms were seized in the year under review.
“Drugs seized include cannabis, tramadol, diazepam, methamphetamine, codeine cough syrup and cocaine/crack.
“Cannabis tops the list of drugs seized, with a total of 1,455,529 kilograms, so the State urgently needs intervention to solve the enormous challenges of cannabis abuse and trafficking.
“Cleaning up 1.5 tonnes of cannabis is a huge savior for parents and the good people of the state, otherwise the destructive effects of the drugs could have been devastating,” he said.
The commander said 185 hard drug users were apprehended and referred to the drug demand reduction unit for brief interventions, and were reintegrated into their families.
“In addition to intervention efforts, 22 clients were admitted to our rehabilitation center and another 17 non-residential clients came from their homes for counseling.
“The legal services and prosecution unit obtained 133 convictions from the Federal High Court in Ilorin, involving 123 men and 10 women, while more charges were laid but still pending.
“14 motor vehicles and 12 motorcycles used by the suspects in drug-related crimes and the seized money were confiscated to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
Popoola said the command, together with the state government, had also initiated drug integrity testing titled “Drug Testing Policy” in which 261 new students of the Kwara State University, Malete were tested.
“The vice-chancellor; dean of student affairs, and all new students tested negative for hard drugs. Many thanks to the university for providing a favorable and appropriate climate for the test.
“Other higher education institutions must emulate a policy that helps Nigeria achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3: “Health and well-being for all by 2030”,” he said.
The commander, however, said the rehabilitation center, which could accommodate 200 people for treatment and counseling of drug addicts, had not been completed due to shortage of funds.