The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, said legalising cannabis in Nigeria will worsen the menace of drug abuse and increase insecurity.
Marwa said this on Friday during a speech at the 2021 Ulefunta annual public lecture, organised by the Deji of Akure, Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, in Akure, Ondo state capital.
Represented by his special adviser on the national drug control master plan (NDCMP), Lanre Ipinmisho, Marwa said Nigeria could witness narco-terrorism like Colombia and Mexico where drug cartels are law unto themselves and are as powerful, if not more powerful than the state.
“So, there are real cases, not scenarios, of where and how illicit substances played a role in a society’s rapid descent into chaos and tethering on the brink of a failed state,” he said, Marwa was quoted to have said statement by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi.
“Of all the known illicit substances, cannabis sativa is the only one that is native to Nigeria and it is the most abused of all illicit drugs, and from the findings of the national drug survey of 2018, cannabis is becoming a national albatross.
“So, the pertinent question for us today is: Have drugs played any role in the festering insecurity in Nigeria? The answer is yes. Of this, we have ample evidence.
“We do not have the luxury of allowing a narcotic economy to take root and thrive in our society. Africa, nay Nigeria, has enough problems without adding the burden of narco-terrorism.”
