THE Director of Media and Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Femi Babafemi has said that 15 million Nigerians are on drugs.
Babafemi, who disclosed this while coordinating a virtual conversation on Twitter spaces on Friday, said 70 per cent of those on drugs were youths.
He warned that going by the 2021 World Drug report, Nigeria would have serious health issues if the problem was not addressed on time.
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Babafemi stressed the need for drastic measures to be taken to combat drug trafficking as, according to him, 40 per cent of the population could become drug users by 2030.
He advised youths to allow the NDLEA agents to do their job whenever they presented their identity cards.
According to him, the NDLEA ID card empowered the agency’s operatives to stop, search and arrest anyone suspected of any drug offense.
The agency had, on Thursday, arrested Nigerian singers, Oniyide Azeez, also known as Zinoleesky, and his colleague, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji, alias Mohbad, after a midnight raid on their residence in Lagos.
Babafemi, who confirmed the arrest, said operatives recovered two varieties of hard drugs, cannabis and molly from the singers.
Zinoleesky and Mohbad are signed to Marlian Music, owned by Azeez Fashola, a rapper-singer better known as Naira Marley.
Fashola has condemned the arrest.
The NDLEA had recently called for stiffer penalties for drug offenders, noting that fines were no longer effective.
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