Drug Addiction: Nigeria Records 2.5m Deaths Annually – NDLEA

Nigeria records over 2.5 million drug abuse related deaths annually, the Ebonyi State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said.

This was revealed yesterday by the NDLEA officer in charge of drug, demand and reduction, Mr Godwin Erepa.

He spoke at the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki during the 2024 International Women’s Day celebration with the theme: “Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress.”

Erepa said that Nigeria also records a total of 14.4 million drug addiction annually and expressed the regret that Ebonyi State is among the few states in the country that does not have a single rehabilitation centre where drug addicts can be rehabilitated.

He said crystal meth popularly known as ‘Mkpurummiri’ remains the most dangerous hard drug globally adding that the hard drug is produced with ten dangerous chemicals which includes, petrol, sulphuric acid, fertiliser among other dangerous chemicals.

The NDLEA officer maintained that it is almost impossible to rehabilitate someone already addicted to Mkpurummiri because of the chemical contents used in the production of the hard drug.

“Ebonyi State is one of the states in the South East that does not have a single rehabilitation centre in the state. The state is expected to have at least 3 rehabilitation centres each in the three senatorial zones of the state.

“The non availability of any rehabilitation centre in the state makes it impossible for the NDLEA to rehabilitate drug addicts in the state. We would urge the state government to ensure the establishment of rehabilitation centre in each senatorial zones of the state,’’ he said.

Mr Erepa also attributed drug addiction to peer group influence and lack of inculcation of moral values to the children by parents adding that some parents introduce their children to hard drug selling and subsequently, drug abuse.

In his address, the Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru announced an empowerment programme of N130 million to 130 women drawn from the 13 local government areas of the state.

He attributed the high level of insecurity witnessed across the country to lack of moral values at different homes and blamed parents for their inability to take charge of their homes.

Nwifuru commended the organisers for the training given to the women on areas of security, tolerance and others adding that such a programme will help in building a strong family.