The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UNODC

  • UNODC: One in four Nigerian drug users is female

    UNODC: One in four Nigerian drug users is female

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has disclosed that one in every four Nigerians involved in drug and substance abuse is a woman, while only one in every 20 persons receiving drug rehabilitation and treatment in the country is female.

    The UN agency also revealed that about 244 million people globally were engaged in drug and substance abuse in 2025, adding that drug use on the African continent is projected to rise by 40 percent by 2030.

    According to the UNODC, the prevalence of drug use in Nigeria is alarmingly high, nearly three times above the global average.

    These statistics were contained in a memorandum submitted by the agency to the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee investigating the rising cases of drug and substance abuse in the country. 

    The committee was chaired by Oluwatimehin Adelegbe (APC, Ondo).

    The memorandum noted that although women account for one-quarter of drug users in Nigeria, they are grossly underrepresented in treatment facilities, with only one in 20 patients being female. 

    This, it said, suggests that stigma and other barriers to access are disproportionately affecting women and girls.

    The UN agency warned that projections indicate drug use across Africa will increase by 40 percent by 2030. For Nigeria, this could translate to more than 20 million drug users, posing a severe threat to public health and national security.

    A copy of the document obtained by The Nation further cited key findings from the UNODC’s 2025 World Drug Report, which showed that an estimated 144 million people used cannabis in 2023. This figure represents 4.6 percent of the global population aged between 15 and 24.

    The report added that cannabis use has increased by 34 percent over the past decade and remains the primary drug of concern for 32 percent of people receiving treatment in Africa. Globally, cannabis was reportedly used by 2.3 percent of women aged between 15 and 64.

    The memorandum also said that cannabis account for a substantial share of drug related harm globally with an estimated 42 percent of drug use disorder cases world wide, while 41 percent of countries reported cannabis as the kain drug of concern for people in drug treatment.

    The document also report e that an estimated 61 million people used opioids in 2023, with 30 million of them using heroin, translating to 0.57 percent or the global population aged between 15 and 64.

    It recommended decriminalising possession for personal use with thresholds, saying the rationale is to shift people who use drugs from criminal system to health services and thereby free enforcement resources to target trafficking networks, while institutionalisng harm reduction in national law and policy.

    It also recommend strengthening asset forfeiture and financial investigations which will provide legal backing for needle and syringe programmes, Naloxone distribution, medication assisted treatment and community outreach among others.

    Also in their memorandum to the Committee, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) revealed a new trafficking pattern being employed by drug traffickers to include increase use of non conventional routes including courier service, luggage concealment and digital ordering system.

    They also identify growing involvement of transnational criminal networks exploiting regional instability and porous borders, emergence of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories, particularly in fringe urban and rural communities and rising cases of poly drug trafficking where traffickers move multiple substances simultaneously to minimise detection risks.

  • FG, UNODC partner to tackle mineral terrorism, money laundering

    FG, UNODC partner to tackle mineral terrorism, money laundering

    The federal government is collaborating with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to combat terrorism financing and money laundering linked to the nation’s vast solid mineral resources.

    The initiative, funded by the Canadian government, aims to build the capacity of Nigeria’s criminal justice system to detect, investigate, and prosecute illicit financial flows associated with conflict financing, including funding for armed groups and organised crime within the mining sector.

    During a visit to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, UNODC’s Project Coordinator on Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Tom Parker, commended Nigeria’s efforts to curb illegal mining, especially the introduction of the Mining Marshals.

    Parker pledged UNODC’s commitment to working closely with the ministry to ensure the project’s success.

    Read Also: UNODC, NAPTIP, Immigration, others unite to redefine migration governance in Nigeria

    In response, Dr. Alake said the initiative aligns with the government’s ongoing drive to sanitize the solid minerals sector and prevent criminal and terrorist exploitation of the country’s mineral wealth.

    “When I got in here, I discovered we needed a new security architecture specifically for the mining sector. I sought the permission of Mr. President to set up Mining Marshals, and they’ve been doing a good job arresting and prosecuting illegal miners,” Alake explained. “The essence is to send a strong message that it can’t be business as usual, and it is yielding salutary effects. A lot of operators are now trying to regularise their operations and are obeying mining laws.”

    Alake revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a new satellite monitoring system for mines nationwide to track illegal activities in real time and support swift deployment of security operatives.

    The UNODC team included Project Officers Inneke Geysens-Bourgions and Nicole Andersen, who pledged full technical support for Nigeria’s efforts to clamp down on mineral-related financial crimes.

    The partnership is part of broader reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda to reposition Nigeria’s solid minerals sector as a major driver of growth while stamping out criminal networks that exploit the nation’s natural resources.

  • First Lady, Marwa, UNODC seek community-based push in anti-drug war

    First Lady, Marwa, UNODC seek community-based push in anti-drug war

    • 62,595 suspects arrested, 11,628 convicted, 10.3m kilograms of illicit drugs seized in 51 months, says NDLEA

    The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged state governments to embrace and entrench community-based interventions that will curb the impact of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking at the grassroots in line with the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP).

    Mrs. Tinubu said this while delivering the keynote address at a capacity-building workshop organised by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for members of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum (NGSF) yesterday in Abuja, where she was represented by the wife of Deputy Senate President, Hajiya Laila Jibrin Barau.

    She hailed the NDLEA and NGSF for taking the drug war to the grassroots.

    The First Lady praised the leadership of NDLEA and its Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), for “courageously confronting the fight against illicit drug abuse and trafficking” across the country.

    Read Also: Atiku’s unfulfilled Nunc Dimittis

    She noted that the training held at a critical time in the fight against drug abuse.

    “This training cannot be coming at a better time than now when statistics and daily life experiences are revealing that drugs have infiltrated every nook and cranny of our communities.

    “As a nation, we are confronted with a growing crisis, one that affects the very core of our society — the health, safety, and future of our children,” Senator Tinubu said.

    The First Lady stressed the need for a collective and multi-pronged response to the drug war.

    “The rising tide of drug and substance abuse amongst adolescents is a challenge that we must no longer ignore or tackle in isolation. It requires concerted efforts, community-driven response, one that integrates enforcement, education, family support, and sustained intervention,” she said.

    Senator Tinubu urged the governors’ spouses to see themselves as torchbearers in the campaign, stressing the importance of using the knowledge gained from the training to develop workable solutions in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

    “As state first ladies, you owe our people the duty to lead by example, to bear their burden, and share in their pain as we jointly confront drug abuse in our society. Let us approach the formidable task ahead with humility, doggedness, and commitment to enable us build communities where our children are protected from harm and empowered to thrive,” she said

    Marwa provided a sobering statistics that underscored the scope of the problem and the agency’s ongoing efforts.

    In 51 months, he said, the NDLEA arrested 62,595 drug suspects, including 68 drug barons, secured 11,628 convictions, seized over 10.3 million kilograms of various illicit drugs, and destroyed more than 1,330 hectares of cannabis farms.

    Marwa highlighted the agency’s dual approach of reducing both drug supply and demand.

    “Between January 2021 and March 2025, a total of 24,375 drug users received counseling and treatment, while 10,501 sensitisation programmes reached nearly four million Nigerians under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign,” he said.

    The NDLEA boss called for urgent and inclusive strategies, emphasising that community-level action was crucial.

    The UNODC Country Representative, Cheikh Ousmane Toure, stressed that the solution to the drug crisis must be rooted in local communities.

    He said: “If the root of this crisis lies in our neighborhoods, schools, and homes, then the solution must too.”

    Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Representative and Head of its Drug Prevention and Control Division, Dr. Daniel Amankwaah, urged state authorities to invest in sustainable, localised responses to drug abuse challenges.

    The technical session of the workshop featured presentations by leading experts in drug prevention and treatment, including Dr. Martins Agwogie, Prof. Akintunde Oyedokun, Dr. Akanidomo Ibanga, Dr. Kunle Adeshina, Dr. Abubakar Salami, and Dr. Ngozi Madubuike.

  • UNODC, NAPTIP, Immigration, others unite to redefine migration governance in Nigeria

    UNODC, NAPTIP, Immigration, others unite to redefine migration governance in Nigeria

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and other stakeholders are partnering to reshape the narrative around migration in Nigeria.

    At a high-level meeting held in Abuja, stakeholders gathered to develop a comprehensive policy framework aimed at making migration in Nigeria safer, more orderly, and a source of national pride.

    The meeting marked the inauguration of the Steering Committee for Component 3 of the “Support to Migration Governance in Nigeria” project.

    Speaking at the event, UNODC Country Representative, Mr. Cheikh Ousmane Toure, emphasised the importance of the collaboration.

    “Today, we gather not merely as representatives of institutions but as custodians of a shared vision: to transform Nigeria’s migration story from one of vulnerability to one of dignity, opportunity, and justice,” Toure said.

    He highlighted Nigeria’s unique position in West Africa, noting that the country’s youthful population, creative energy, and dynamic economy place it at the heart of regional migration flows.

    “It’s youth, entrepreneurs, artists, and labourers cross borders in search of livelihoods, education, and safety,” he added.

    The initiative is expected to strengthen migration governance structures and promote sustainable development while safeguarding the rights of migrants. 

    “But too often, their journeys are marked by peril—exploitation by smugglers, violence at borders, and the anguish of families torn apart by trafficking.

    “This is not just a policy challenge. It is a moral imperative.

    “Today, we gather not merely to address these challenges but to redefine the narrative of migration in Nigeria—to make it safe, orderly, and a source of pride.

    “This project, Component 3, of the Support to Migration Governance in Nigeria, is more than a program; it is a promise. A promise to the young woman dreaming of a better future beyond our borders, to the family seeking safety from conflict, and to the communities striving for sustainable development.

    “Aligned with the UNODC’s Strategic Vision for Nigeria 2030, this initiative is a bold step toward strengthening our criminal justice system, safeguarding human rights, and building a society resilient against the scourge of trafficking and smuggling. Through five interconnected outputs, we aim to fortify policy implementation, enhance data-driven prevention, protect victims with unwavering commitment, empower law enforcement, and foster cooperation across borders and institutions.”

    He also charged the newly inaugurated Steering Committee on the need to think beyond timelines and deliverables.

    He said: “Today, as we review the Terms of Reference and the 2025 work plan, I urge us to think beyond timelines and deliverables.”

    Read Also: NAPTIP receives 231 victims of human trafficking from Ghana

     To the members of this Steering Committee: You are not advisors—you are architects. The National Migration Policy and the Action Plan on Human Trafficking are blueprints, but you will turn them into action. Challenge us. Demand transparency. Insist on sustainability.

    NAPTIP DG, who was represented by Mr. Rasheed Okatinji, Head, Data & Statistics, said, “For Nigeria, the challenges and opportunities presented by migration are both profound and complex. While migration can be a powerful force for development, it also presents risks when poorly governed. Risks such as irregular migration, human trafficking, labour exploitation, and transnational organised crime.”

    He therefore said the project, Support to Migration Governance in Nigeria, Component 3, is timely, strategic, and deeply relevant.

    He added: “It reflects our shared resolve to strengthen Nigeria’s migration architecture in a manner that is rights-based, gender-sensitive, development-oriented, and anchored in strong institutional coordination. Permit me at this point to express our profound appreciation to the European Union for its generous funding of this project.

    “Your unwavering support continues to drive meaningful change in our governance landscape.”

  • UN agency warns against gender-related killings

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has drawn attention to what it calls the “disproportionally high risk” of women and girls in Africa falling victims to gender-related homicide.

    In a recent report on gender-related killing of women and girls found that globally, a staggering 87 000 women were intentionally killed in 2017. Even more worrying is that 60% of these killings were perpetrated by intimate partners or family members including parents, children or any other member of their family.

    The UNODC in marking the International Women’s Day, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov had said, “While the vast majority of homicide victims are men, women continue to pay the highest price as a result of gender inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes. They are also the most likely to be killed by intimate partners and family.”

    Out of the total of 50 000 women killed in 2017 by their current or former partners or by any family member, 19 000 were Africans. This makes Africa the region where women run the greatest risk of being killed by people they normally should be able to trust the most. In addition, they are vulnerable to honour, sorcery and witchcraft related killings.

  • World Drug Day: UNODC sensitises pupils, others on drug abuse

    THE United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has sensitised pupils  and others on drug abuse and related organised crimes in Nigeria.

    The campaign was organised to commemorate the World Drug Day on Tuesday at Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The theme for this year campaign is: “Vision of the Child”. It was aimed at listening to children and youths to help them grow healthy and safe from drug abuse.

    Speaking at the event, UNODC’s Project Officer William Wu Shiyin said the organisation was created to assist member states and others to roll back threats caused by drugs, transnational organised crimes in their countries.

    “Our objective is to support the Nigerian government in its efforts to fight illicit drug production, trafficking and use, curb related organised crimes, including counterfeit narcotics and psychotropic substances,” he said.

    However, to curb risk factor associated with the girl-child, UNODC will be launching “Techy girls’ initiative” next month. The initiative is a platform for educating the girl-child and making them innovative, creative as change-makers and productive through technology.

    The initiative adopted 17 change-makers, who are pupils from various schools present at the event as its pioneers.

    One of the beneficiaries of the initiative, Toluwanin Fayose, from CIS Lagos, was excited about the appointment.

    “I’m honoured and excited to be part of this and it is my belief that through technology, Nigeria will impact the global world positively,” she said.

    Fayose, who also showed her paintings depicting the situation of drug abusers in Nigeria, said: “In my work, I was trying to show that people who take drugs are not bad and should be listened to. My message is that people should care more for drug abusers and always be ready to listen to them.”

    In another interview, Miss Mmesoma Okonkwo, from Lead Forte College, Lekki, Lagos, said innovation and less use of drugs will create a sustainable economy, which in turn will lead to more job employment for the youth.

    UNODC also launched a movie – “Trapped” –  in response to global campaign against drug at the event.

  • UNODC, ministry, others to hold campaign against drug abuse

    THE United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health, law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will today hold a campaign against drug abuse.

    The event, billed for Victoria Crown Plaza, 292b Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos by 10am, is designed to commemorate the World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

    Two representatives of the UNODC – its Project Officer, William Wu Shiyin and Project Officer, Outreach and Communications Sylvester Tunde Atere, dropped the hint when they visited The Nation‘s Corporate Office in Lagos yesterday.

    According to Shiyin, the project is part of UNODC’s ongoing campaign tagged: “Response to drug and related organised crimes in Nigeria”.

    Shiyin said the campaign, which is being sponsored by the European Union (EU), has  three major components – policy formulation, institution and capacity-building, and coordination.

    Shiyin said: “It started in December 2013 and will extend to 2019. It is likely to be extended beyond 2019. Tomorrow is the international day against drug abuse and we are partnering with NGOs to commemorate the day.

    “We are organising a campaign to this effect. The campaign is part of the organisation’s ongoing: “Response to drug and related organised crimes in Nigeria. 26 selected schools across have been invited for the programme.”

    Atere said 80 per cent of the Nigerian population below 45 are within the age bracket of drug abusers.

    “Hence, the issue of drug abuse is not a moral issue but evidence-based and health-based issues.

    “There is need for treatment and professional counselling, especially for drug abusers. Thus, there is need to build the capacity of drug and law enforcement agencies such as National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Police, Custom and Immigration officers, among others, to know how to tackle and enforce national and international laws to tackle drug abuse,” he said.

    Atere added that the UN agency has introduced human right component into drug law enforcement campaign by building the technical capacity of drug law enforcement agencies to deal with people with drug related problems and respect travellers as well as those they come in contact with at the airport.

    They added that it’s rather worrisome that drug addicts are mostly youth and that it should be a source of great concern to everyone.

    According to them, given the enormity of the damage of drug addiction to mankind, no effort should be spared to curb its menace.

  • 2.5m migrants smuggled in 2016 – UNODC

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said at least 2.5 million migrants were smuggled during the course of 2016.

    UNODC, in the first ever Global Study on Smuggling of Migrants, said migrant smuggling occurred in all parts of the world, generated an income of up to $7billion.

    The UN agency that fights drugs and crime, said the amount was equivalent to what the United States or the European Union spent on humanitarian aid in 2016.

    “This transnational crime preys on the most vulnerable of the vulnerable,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, UNODC Director of Policy Analysis and Public Affairs.

    “It’s a global crime that requires global action, including improved regional and international cooperation and national criminal justice responses.”

    The study described 30 major smuggling routes worldwide and found that demand for smuggling services was particularly high among refugees who, for lack of other means, might need to use people-smugglers to reach a safe destination fleeing their countries of origin.

    NAN

  • Nigeria, EU, UNODC renew commitments against terrorism

    • Unfold new project

    The European Union has unfolded a three-year funding plans for the ongoing fight against terrorism. This was the highpoint of a final Project Steering Committee meeting involving Nigerian, EU, and UNODC officials to reflect on the achievements made under the second phase of the EU-Nigeria-UNODC partnership to counter terrorism in Nigeria.

    The two-year project funded by the European Union came to a close at the end of March. While it lasted, the project focused on further strengthening the capacity of Nigerian criminal justice officials to effectively investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate terrorism cases, in accordance with the rule of law and human rights.  It built on the groundwork laid under the previous EU-Nigeria-UNODC project.

    Mr. Kurt Cornelis from the European Union noted that “The European Union is particularly pleased to have been able to support the Government of Nigeria to address the significant terrorist threat facing the Northeast by working with Nigeria to develop an Action Plan on the Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism in Northeast Nigeria which will support implementation of the Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.  The EU looks forward to partnering with Nigeria on its implementation during the next phase of the project.”

    Ms. Catherine Udida, from the Office of the National Security Adviser, stated “Over the last two years, Nigeria has made important progress in its fight against terrorism.  We continue to be grateful for the partnership with the EU and UNODC in addressing this challenge and in particular for the support provided to the Nigerian Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.”

    Ms. Elisabeth Bayer from the UNODC Office in Nigeria thanked the European Union and Nigeria for their on-going close collaboration, noting that “This project has been tailored to the needs identified by the government.  As a result, it has built a significant cadre of trained Nigerian counter-terrorism practitioners who are armed with the skills and knowledge needed to respond to the terrorism-related criminal justice challenges that Nigeria is currently facing.”

     

  • UNODC against decriminalization of cannabis in Nigeria

    The United Nation office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) has denied reports that the organization called for the decriminalization of Cannabis in Nigeria.

    The officer in charge of  UNODC  in Nigeria, Elisabeth Bayer made the clarification  in a statement issued in Abuja on reports about the organisation’s  visit to Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, Abuja at which it made a presentation at the public hearing on ‘The need to check the rising menace of pharmaceutical drugs abuse amongst youth in Nigeria’ on 26 March, 2018.

    “On being asked specifically on cannabis, our representative clearly stated that legalization of Cannabis is not supported by the three UN international drug conventions (Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol; Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971; UN convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988).

    “To keep the record straight, on invitation by the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, UNODC made a presentation at the public hearing and reiterated the following recommendations contained in 2017 International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report, where the Board urges all Governments to:

     

    (a)    Gather data on prevalence of drug-use disorders and the accessibility and utilization of treatment;

     

    (b)   Invest in making treatment and rehabilitation evidence-based;

     

    (c)    Allocate sufficient resources to treatment and rehabilitation, the two major components of demand reduction;

     

    (d)   Pay particular attention to special population groups;

     

    (e)    Share, nationally and internationally, best practices and build capacity;

     

    (f)    Stimulate research into new interventions.