The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), has called on traditional rulers and community leaders to thoroughly screen people seeking to buy farmlands, warning that drug cartels are increasingly using remote communities to establish illegal drug laboratories.
Marwa made the appeal during the 10th Akinale Day celebration and the first coronation anniversary of the Towulade of Owu Akinale, Oba Oluseyi Adediran, according to a statement issued by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
The NDLEA boss said the warning followed the recent discovery of industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratories allegedly operated by a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel in the forests of Ogun and Oyo states.
He urged royal fathers and community leaders, particularly in the South-West, to closely monitor the activities of strangers within their communities and surrounding forests.
“Royal fathers and community leaders in the South-West and the country as a whole must pay attention to activities of strangers in their forests. Also, those seeking to buy farmlands in rural communities must be properly vetted,” Marwa said.
According to him, careful screening of prospective land buyers will help prevent criminal groups from using isolated locations to manufacture illicit drugs.
Marwa also appealed to traditional institutions, parents and community leaders across Nigeria to work closely with the NDLEA in the fight against drug abuse and drug trafficking.
He noted that substance abuse affects people across all social classes and urged parents to pay closer attention to their children and recognise the early warning signs of drug addiction.
The NDLEA chairman further advised young Nigerians to stay away from illicit drugs, describing substance abuse as a dangerous path that only creates more personal and societal problems.
He also encouraged the traditional council in Owu Akinale to establish community-based advocacy groups that would help prevent drug trafficking while supporting individuals struggling with substance dependence.
Marwa stressed that the agency cannot successfully win the war against illicit drugs without the support of traditional institutions, saying they are well positioned to influence young people and mobilise communities at the grassroots.
The event was attended by traditional rulers, political leaders and other dignitaries.
