14.3 Million Nigerians Abuse Drugs — NDLEA
Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Saturday, July 29th, 2023
(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has said that approximately 14.3 million Nigerians are involved in drug abuse.
The agency said the 14.3 million Nigerian drug abusers are within the age range of 15 and 64 years, adding that more women are now involved.
The Ogun state Commander of the NDLEA, Ibiba Odili, stated this during the Launch of the War Against Drug Abuse in collaboration with Lions clubs international, held in Abeokuta.
Odili lamented the alarming trend of the involvement of women in drug abuse in the country, saying one in four is a woman.
She said, “2018 survey tells us that the most common drug abused in Nigeria is cannabis, which regrettably is cultivated mostly in the southwest region of Nigeria.
“That, one out of every four drug users is a woman. In 2018 data shows that more women are going into drug use. And if more women are going into drug use, it is a source of worry for us, because, it means that the traditional row of women in families and communities are caregivers, role models, and live moulders will be threatened, because what quality of children are these women going to raise.”
She explained that Nigeria transformed from a mere transit country for drug trafficking to a major consumer and even producer of illicit substances.
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