Musa Na Allah Sokoto Sokoto
National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Sokoto Command has expressed concern over the alarming rate of drug abuse among Women in Sokoto State.
The Commandant of the Agency in Skokoto, Mr. Ibro A Mohammad stated this in an exclusive Interview with Stallion Times in Sokoto.
He said the rate at which women are consuming and mingling with drugs in the state is alarming and causing great concern to the Agency.
“It’s painful to see young girls engaging in drug abuse in secondary schools and tertiary institutions in the state, the menace which if not promptly tackled will hamper the growth and development of women in the state.
“Over 70 percent of women and young girls in the state are engaged in one form of drugs or the other and the ratio is increasing by the day especially now that political campaigns commenced.
“The warehouse of the NDLEA in the state is however overstretched with more than 20 metric tones of seized and confiscated drugs Worth millions of naira awaiting destruction, adding that now some drugs have to be kept in Courts after securing conviction due to lack of available space in the command warehouse.
The NDLEA Commandant in Sokoto said the Agency is doing everything humanely possible to block all entry points of drugs with a view to ensure that, Sokoto does not serve as a transit point for drug peddlers to Europe and other western countries.
According to him, the NDLEA has arrested over 10 suspected merchants with over 1000 kilograms of various drugs in the state, adding that all are currently in prison custody awaiting trial.
He further explained that drug peddlers in the state are increasingly becoming uncomfortable with daily raids carried out by the personnel of the anti-narcotics Agency, and looking for alternative businesses.
He said: “In one of our outings along the old Airport, in Sokoto metropolis, we were able to see over 50 kilograms of Tramadol drugs thrown in a dustbin by an unknown suspect who probably chose to abandon the illicit trading for fear of arrest.
The Commandant described a lack of rehabilitation center for women as the major challenge it is facing in the state.
He said women addicts in the state are referred to the Kebbi state command for rehabilitation and counseling.
He, however, expressed appreciation for the establishment and inauguration of a drugs control committee under the Chairmanship of the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Muhammad Ali Inname.
