Ganduje Blames Boko Haram Insurgency, Banditry on Drug Abuse

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

The Governor of Kano State, Mr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has blamed the rising wave of banditry, thuggery and the activities of the members of Boko Haram on drug abuse and called for all hands to be put on deck to curb the menace.

Ganduje made this assertion yesterday during the public destruction of exhibits by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in Kano.

He said: “Drug abuse is the major crime aiding Boko Haram, banditry, thuggery and street fights in our communities. They abuse drugs to engage in all these and many other crimes.

“There is need for all hands to be put on deck to deal with the situation and force it out of our communities.”

The governor explained that the state government is relocating all pharmacies in Kano city to the Economic City Market that is located at Dangwauro in order to discourage drug abuse.

Ganduje also disclosed that plans are underway to deploy all relevant security agencies to the new pharmaceutical market to ensure that no unlawful drugs would be sold in the state.

“All wholesalers and pharmaceutical dealers will very soon be relocated to the Kano Economic City Market at Dangwauro,” the governor said.

He also said that a bill against drug abuse should soon be sent to the state’s House of Assembly.

Speaking during the occasion, the Chairman of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Colonel Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, (rtd) expressed dismay that the NDLEA is conducting yet another exercise for the destruction of illicit drugs within a space of three years in the Kano Command.

Abdallah explained that 28,168 tons of illicit drugs were destroyed during the exercise and added that there is still 25 tons of illicit drugs in the custody of the agency awaiting forfeiture by the court before they would be destroyed.

“Today’s event is, however, saddening for the fact that the agency is conducting this crucial exercise for a second time within the space of three years in this particular command.

“Only in November 2017, the Agency destroyed 54.244 metric tons of the illicit substances in Kano state.

“Today we are here to destroy another 28, 167. 629 tons of drugs,” Abdallah said.

He also commended the NDLEA for its performance in the fight against misuse of substances in the state, which also indicated the sad reality that unacceptable quantities of psychoactive substances are prevalent in the state.

“Like most states in the federation, cannabis sativa remains a major problem since some 11,979.831 kilograms have been confiscated,” he said.