Nollywood practitioners and entertainers have been urged to stop promoting drug abuse through their contents to the public.
The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, gave the advice on on Friday in Lagos.
He spoke at a one-day conference organised by NDLEA Celebrity Drug Free Club to mark the 2022 International Day Against Illicit drug Abuse and trafficking.
The conference had its theme as “Best Approach to Drug Control: The Role of Entertainment Industry Practitioners”.
Marwa, who was represented by Mr Segun Okeh, Zone H Commander, said there were many approaches in checking drug abuse.
He said “we need to appeal to the entertainment industry practitioners not to send wrong message that has drug abuse contents in your cast, script, presentation on the screen.
”You must watch properly the contents while processing entertainment to the public. There is the tendency for the young mind to believe that what they see in entertainment is real.”
The Commissioner of police in Lagos State, Mr Abiodun Alabi, represented by CSP Gbenga Stephen, stressed that the entertainment industry practitioners had a lot to do to check drug abuse in the society because of their large followership.
The leader of the club, Mr Wilson Ighodalo, said the conference was designed to harness the enormous potential in the creative industry, to promote evidence-based approach to drug abuse in Nigeria.
A comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka, blamed security agencies that had refused to bring entertainers to who promote drugs to book, to serve as deterrent to others.
Another comedian, Koffi De Guru, Kofi De Guru also took a swipe at the NDLEA and National Broadcasting Commission for allowing the airing of some contents in the radio and television stations.
Mr Victor Osuagwu, an actor, called on security agencies to stop providing security for celebrities who were into drugs, including videoing security personnel guarding them while doing drugs.
