Between January and July, the Gombe State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) detained no fewer than 214 people for drug-related offenses.
During the time period under review, NDLEA agents also apprehended and seized methamphetamine, 257.5 kg of psychoactive substances, and 93.95 kg of cannabis sativa from the suspects.
At a session hosted by the Association of Professional Counselors, APROCON, in Nigeria on Monday, Mr. Bello Mumini, the agency’s State Deputy Commander on Narcotics, disclosed the information in relation to a paper he had presented on the “Drug Abuse Situation in Gombe State.”
He stated, “The 214 suspects included 200 males and 14 females.”
The 214 arrests, he said, had resulted in 30 convictions, and 137 of them had been charged with crimes.
The NDLEA representative bemoaned the fact that drug and substance usage in the State transcended gender, age, and social standing and bemoaned the fact that many women had been identified as drug users.
He said it was depressing that despite the high rate of drug misuse in the State, the NDLEA rehabilitation center was not being fully utilized.
He said that although the facility has a 24-bed capacity, the most people in need of rehabilitation at any given time is seven.
He made an appeal to the state government and other partners to assist the center by providing financial support for clients’ successful rehabilitation.
Dr. Habiba Isah, the chairperson of APROCON, remarked that drug usage had become a threat that all stakeholders should be concerned about given its detrimental impacts on the
