National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano, northern Nigeria, on Thursday destroyed assorted illicit drugs worth billions of Naira .
The dangerous hard drugs were a stock of seizures made by the Kano state Command and Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) Commands in the last four years.
Kano state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who represented Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and top NDLEA officials from Abuja set the illicit drugs ablaze at the Kano headquarters of the narcotic agency.
Kwankwaso promised to support NDLEA in its fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
The chairman of NDLEA, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade said that over 20, 949.411kg of illicit drugs were seized by the Kano state Command.
According to him, the drugs consist of 20, 248, 973kg of cannabis, 688, 622kg of psychothropic substances, 11.211kg of cocaine and 595.47gramms of heroine.
The anti-drug boss said in 2011 alone, reports show that Kano state had the highest number of arrest in the country with a total of 1281 suspected male drug traffickers were apprehended with 4921.582kg of narcotics.
He stated that cannabis has the largest share with 4,531.52kg, sychothropic substance followed with 383.289kg, while cocaine and heroine are 5.1kg and 1.67kg respectively.
Giade who was represented by Director, Prosecution and Legal services, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba said that Kano successfully convicted 209 drug offenders and counseled 878 clients with drug abuse problem.
He said that drugs traced and seized as well as the arrest and conviction recorded, reflected the determination of the agency to make the country drug-free, pointing out that Kano statistics absolves females from drug trafficking and abuse, while their male counterparts constitute the highest suspect, describing the situation as worrisome.
The Kano state Commander, Ethan, described the occasion as a superlative anti-drug campaign strategy, “a call to action—to save humanity from the scourge of drugs. It is no figure of speech but literally true that substances of abuse are the greatest threat to human existence in the 21st century. Humanity must therefore, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to illicit drug abuse before it put a stop to humanity.
“The NDLEA Commands in the state are not relenting in their resolve to clean the Augean of the delibitating effects of drugs. This event showcases the monumental fear recorded in the Commands’ drug supply reduction efforts in the last four years.”
The NDLEA boss further stated that in 2008 alone, a total of 5,154.295kgs of hard drug exhibits seized by Kano and Malam Aminu Kano International Airport Commands were public destroyed by burning, “today that is massive seizure pales in comparison to the present landmark recorded in that regard—the largest so far, for a single destruction episode in Kano since the inception of the Commands.”
He added that between January and August 2012 alone, the Commands made an immense seizure of I2.233 tonnes of various drug exhibits and arrested a total of 458 suspects out of which 110 persons were convicted by the Federal High Court.
However, further breakdown of the seized and destroyed drugs indicated that Kano state Command seized 20,922.954kgs, while Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) confiscated 26.457kgs.
Abandoned seizure amounted to 16,654.969kgs, while the two Commands also secured the conviction of 480 persons for drug offences at the Federal High Court sitting in Kano.
Mr. Umoru Ambrose who heads the MAKIA Command described the event s big and breakthrough for NDLEA in Kano and wondered the extent of damage the burnt illicit drugs would have caused to the society.
“We are happy that we are able to make this success and we shall continue to fight against the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs in Kano. Our men are well mobilized to do the work and with the continuous cooperation of the government and sister-agencies, we are committed to perform even better than this.”