NDLEA Plans Six Rehab Centres To Help Drug Abuse Sufferers

As part of the effort to help reduce the menace of drug abuse sufferers, the NDLEA has proposed to build 6 rehabilitation centres.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency boss, Buba Marwa made this known.

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According to the NDLEA boss, this would help treat the high number of people suffering from substance addiction or abuse.

Marwa revealed that these rehabilitation centres will each be built in the six geo-political zones in the country.

In a statement from the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA laments the thriving menace of drug abuse in Nigeria.

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Speaking at the fifth Biennial National Symposium on Drugs and Drugs Policy in Nigeria, he assured that three of the centres will begin operation next year (2022).

He said, “Substance use and abuse around the world, including Nigeria, is on the increase.

“Findings from the National Drug Use Survey (2018) conducted by the UNODC revealed that 14.4 per cent or 14.3 million Nigerians aged between15 and 64 years had used a psychoactive substance in the past year for non-medical purposes. Meaning that one in seven persons has used some substances other than alcohol and tobacco. More worrisome is the finding that among every four drug users in Nigeria, one is a woman.

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“The above findings of the survey by UNODC give a troubling portrait of drug abuse in Nigeria. We can no longer live in denial that Nigeria has a thriving illicit drug culture.

“As part of efforts to stem the tide, the NDLEA has proposed the construction of six standard rehabilitation centres across the six geo-political zones in the country beginning from next year. Three of the centres will start next year as already proposed in the 2022 budget.”

The symposium was organized by the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse.

Source: PUNCH HealthWise