SIR: The seizure of 48,000 tablets of 225mg tramadol and the arrest of the three trans-border traffickers heading out of Nigeria through Mubi in Adamawa State to Cameroon Republic via Bagira border town on January 28 by the operatives of the NDLEA has again brought to the fore the problem of drug abuse especially controlled drugs like tramadol. Who would have thought that these quantities of banned and controlled substance would be in possession of the three men? If the NDLEA had gone to sleep, these would have been another successful drug-heist for these men. No, it wasn’t their day to succeed at least not in this era when it appears the level of intelligence gathering by the anti-narcotic agency has surged especially with the coming of Buba Marwa to the leadership in 2021.
The truth be said, visible changes have taken place within the NDLEA in the last one year and from the agency’s report card on the last one year, there have been the seizures of 3.4 million kg of illicit drugs, arrest of 12,306 drug dealing suspects and the number of cases in courts which have resulted in the conviction of 1,400 offenders.
With all these facts, one will wonder what audacity and guts this crime oriented persons possess to still engage in the illegal importation, transportation, and distribution and trafficking of illicit drugs within the country. Week starts to weekends, hundreds of kilograms of illicit psychotropic substances are being discovered and seized across the nation, a chunk of these being tramadol. Then it means there is a lot of work still left to be done, if not, how and when did these 48,000 tablets of tramadol get into the hands of these unrelenting elements?
Recognition should go to the officers and men of the NDLEA, who are well-matched with the new realities and visions of the Marwa’s era by standing up to the new modes of drug concealment employed by these illicit drug traffickers.
Ignorance they say is not an excuse in law. Hence, weep not for those in possession of illicit drugs, for soonest the triple eyes of the NDLEA consisting of their intelligence, arrest and prosecution will meet up with them. In view of the nature and level of insecurity bedevilling the nation and the roof tops campaigns against drug abuse and trafficking from various civil society groups and NGOs, parents and teachers alike must sit up to do their work, by talking to their children and wards, for in doing so they would have taken a cue from the chairman/chief executive officer of the NDLEA who once said that we should own the war against drug abuse just like the people of the Southeast have done.
- Francis Okogun,
Benin City, Edo State.