The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has counselled and rehabilitated more than 54,000 drug users over the past five years.

The Agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed this on Friday in Benin, at the second Regimental Sergeant Majors’ (RSMs) Convention.

Marwa, who emphasised that substance dependence was a treatable health condition requiring intervention and support, urged the Nigerian Army to strengthen efforts to prevent drug abuse among its personnel.

He spoke on the theme: “Combating Drug Abuse and Substance Misuse in the Nigerian Army: The Role of RSMs in Prevention, Early Detection and Rehabilitation”.

According to him, drug dependence should not automatically be treated as a moral failure or grounds for discarding affected personnel.

He stressed the need to balance discipline with appropriate treatment.

“A drug user is not automatically a criminal to be thrown away. In many cases, he is a sick man who needs help,” he said.

Marwa said the NDLEA’s rehabilitation efforts formed part of a broader response to the country’s drug problem, which also involved enforcement, prevention and public sensitisation.

He cited the 2018 National Drug Use Survey, which estimated that 14.3 million Nigerians aged betwwen 15 and 64 had used drugs in 2017, representing 14.4 per cent of the population.

He said drug-use prevalence in Lagos was 33 per cent, underscoring the scale of the challenge confronting the country.

The NDLEA chairman disclosed that the agency had arrested more than 76,000 suspects, including 250 drug barons, in the past five years.

He added that it seized more than 16 million kilogrammes of illicit substances, destroyed over 2,000 hectares of cannabis farms and secured 16,691 convictions within the period.

“The agency also conducted 17,000 War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy activities in schools, workplaces, markets, motor parks and communities, ” he said.

Marwa said substance misuse posed a serious threat to the Nigerian Army’s combat readiness, discipline and operational effectiveness.

“Why is drug abuse a combat readiness issue? Some may think that drug abuse is a welfare or social problem. It is far more than that. It is an operational problem in the army and a command problem,” he said.

He explained that drugs could impair soldiers’ judgement and trigger aggression, paranoia and delusion, potentially endangering colleagues and civilians during military operations.

He warned that substance misuse could also result in absenteeism, indiscipline, theft of military property and weakened unit cohesion.

“Combat requires reliability. One unreliable man can lead to the loss of lives of 10 men or more,” he said.

Marwa identified RSMs as critical to preventing drug abuse within military formations, describing them as the conscience of their units and a vital link between soldiers and commanding officers.

He said their daily interaction with personnel placed them in a strategic position to detect behavioural changes and identify possible cases of substance misuse early.

“You are the commanding officer’s most honest adviser. You must tell the commander the truth. You are the principal moral boss of the unit. You can build morale or kill it,” he said.

He urged the RSMs to lead by example, maintain discipline and educate soldiers on the dangers of drug abuse during unit meetings and other engagements.

He listed possible warning signs to include unusual drowsiness, red or glazed eyes, weight loss, poor hygiene, tremors, slurred speech, unexplained debts, missing property and frequent disappearances.

He cautioned that no single sign was conclusive evidence of drug use, stressing that proper testing was necessary.

“The conclusive way to confirm drug use is through the drug integrity test,” he said.

Marwa also urged military authorities to distinguish between drug trafficking and substance dependence, saying traffickers should face the law while personnel struggling with addiction should be assessed for treatment.

He said the circumstances of each case should be considered, including whether a wounded soldier had become dependent on pain medication.

The chairman disclosed that the NDLEA had rehabilitation centres across the country and was willing to share expertise with the army, including training its medical and welfare personnel.

Marwa called for stronger collaboration between the army and NDLEA, particularly in intelligence gathering and operations against drug trafficking networks.

He warned that traffickers could attempt to compromise military personnel with money and other inducements, urging RSMs to reject such approaches and report suspicious activities.

He acknowledged the army’s support for NDLEA operations, particularly in conducting raids on cannabis farms located in remote forests.

“The NDLEA cannot fight this war alone. The army cannot fight this war alone. Drug abuse is a shared enemy,” he said. (NAN)

Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa