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No room for internal sabotage in war against illicit drugs – Marwa

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) said, there will be no room for internal sabotage in the renewed war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.

Marwa gave the warning in his remarks at the passing out ceremony of additional 2,500 cadets of Senior Officers Basic Course 16 on Thursday, at the NDLEA Academy, Jos Plateau state.

A statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi said Marwa reminded that the ceremony completes the addition of 5,000 personnel to the NDLEA workforce.

According to him, in January 2021, NDLEA was handed a lifeline to rejig its structure and improve its systems to counter contemporary drug problems and added that, “Today’s passing out ceremony, coming after months of rigorous training, is one of the manifestations of the ongoing restructuring in the Agency.

“Having another batch of 5, 000 officers to strengthen our workforce will assuredly give the needed impetus to the fight against the abuse and trafficking of illicit substances. In the tradition of our noble organisation and according to global best practices, this batch of officers has been trained to be efficient drug law enforcement agents.

“They have spent the past four months in training, where they have learnt the intricacies of drug law enforcement and know that their job demands sacrifice, loyalty, and discipline. I have no doubt that they are aware of their position as an important cog in the law and order system of society.”

While welcoming the new Assistant Superintendents of Narcotics to the Agency, he warned against compromising the ethics of their profession or subverting the goals of the organisation.

“In our renewed campaign against illicit drugs, we are at a stage of ramped-up interdiction against cannabis, opioids, and other psychoactive substances. We cannot afford to decelerate our effort and we will not tolerate sabotage from within. What that means is that the injection of an additional 5, 000 officers must have an immediate and far-reaching impact on the campaign”.

Marwa, who was represented at the ceremony by the Director Planning, Research and Statistics, Victoria Egbase, said “We have seen the truth come back full circle in the past few weeks, whereby some of the world’s known abusers of cannabis have come out to tell the public they are either quitting or have been diagnosed with some ailment, notably emphysema, which puts them at risk of early death and mental harm.

“That should further add impetus to our collective effort to rid our society of the menace of cannabis and other such dangerous substances”, he said and warned the new officers that they must not be found wanting in the discharge of their responsibilities”.

. TheWitness