NOA boss seeks support to take Nigerian youth off drugs

The Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr Garba Abari, on Tuesday urged Nigerians to take proactive steps to save the youths from drug addiction, which has turned them into political thugs and kidnappers.

Abari made the call in Kaduna at an interactive programme organized by the agency, with the theme: `Security sensitization and re-Orientation against political thuggery, Kidnapping and Drug Addiction.’

Abari suggested sustained sensitisation of such group of youth, to understand the dangers of addiction to their health, wellbeing and the society.

“The current security challenges and social ills affecting our nation is of great concern to us, as such sensitization programmes like this would be on-going across the nation to re-orientate our youth on the effect of the social vices they engage in”, he said.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, said, “We have a responsibility to collaborate with agencies like National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigerian Immigration to ensure the eradication of illegal sale and use of drugs in our society.”

Dr Ibrahim Baba, an official of the NDLEA, said illicit drug intake was the root cause of most crimes in the country. He stressed that majority of crimes been committed were mostly perpetrated under the influence of hard drugs.

Baba, therefore, called on the government to set up drug rehabilitation centres nationwide, to help wean addicts out of their bad habit. [NAN]