The Federal Government of Nigeria has called for global cooperation to tackle drug trafficking and all forms of organised crime, including terrorism.
Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig-Gen Mohammed Marwa (rtd), made the call at the ongoing 64th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, holding in Vienna, Austria, according to a statement on Monday by his media aide, Mr Femi Babafemi.
He said Nigeria would welcome robust international cooperation to address the links between drug trafficking and terrorism, illicit financial flows, smuggling of migrants and other forms of organised crime.
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“We underscore the importance of technical assistance by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which has greatly assisted practitioners of beneficiary countries.
“This positively impacted on global efforts to counter and address the world’s drug problem, and we urge their continuation,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA chairman noted that the country would continue to adapt drug control policies and strategies to respond to emerging and evolving realities, but lamented that despite the implementation of the framework and strategic Action Plan, trafficking and abuse of controlled substances persisted.
“First, the cultivation and high traffic of cannabis and its abuse has been on the increase. Our National Drug Use Survey, 2019, revealed that over 10 million persons abused cannabis in one year. In a similar pattern, the 2019 and 2020 World Drug Reports identified cannabis as the most abused substance with its threat to security, health and wellbeing of the global population.
“Second, the trafficking and non-medical use of synthetic and pharmaceutical opioids, especially Tramadol, remains a challenge. This is despite our domestic control efforts, as well as two tripartite meetings, facilitated by UNODC, involving Nigeria, Ghana and India, held in New Delhi and Lagos in 2019, to address the Tramadol crisis,” Marwa stated.
He added that legalisation of the use of cannabis was a violation of the drug control treaties.
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