ADVERTISEMENT
The Sun Nigeria
  • Home
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun
No Result
View All Result
The Sun Nigeria
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Lawan, Marwa’s exposé on terrorism, banditry

12th March 2021
in Politics
0
Lawan, Marwa’s exposé on terrorism, banditry
0
SHARES
681
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Fred Itua, Abuja

Last Thursday, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), General Buba Marwa (retd), took off the lid when the duo gave an exposé on those funding terrorism and banditry in the country. For many Nigerians, the revelation was shocking. For those within the corridors of power, it was unexpected.

For Marwa, who since he assumed the chairmanship of NDLEA, has recorded huge seizures of illicit drugs transited through the nation’s airports and locally, swimming in troubled waters to get the job done appears to be his forte.

Lawan isn’t exempted. It was a departure from his usual mantra that the National Assembly was on the same page with the Executive. However, there are concerns. Nigerians, who since the revelation was made, have waited for the next line of action, are wondering if the government will go beyond the repetitive promises and do the needful.

Pundits also hold the view that if the country must arrest the situation, NDLEA must be empowered, by revisiting some of the laws establishing it and giving it the needed financial backing to rid the country of barons and their enablers.

Lawan in his extensive intervention, said the unnamed barons provide terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, bandits and kidnappers with arms and ammunitions to undertake criminal activities in the country.

According to him, such drug barons who engage in trafficking heroine, cannabis and cocaine have made Nigeria a major transit route for plying the illicit trade, which he added, was responsible for the rise of criminality in the country.

The Senate President, therefore, called for the restructuring of the NDLEA so as to further empower it to rise to the occasion of clamping down on the criminals.

He said: “The National Assembly members are almost on a daily interaction with our constituents and we know the very debilitating impact of drug abuse in our various communities.

“You have rightly said almost every community in this country suffers from drug addiction. So, we are very mindful of what is happening.

“I believe that this agency needs restructuring. Now that you have taken over, we should go the whole haul to restructure the agency, not piece meal touches, because we need to get it right.

“My personal opinion is that NDLEA should be in the league of EFCC, ICPC, and therefore, the kind of support that those two agencies I mentioned receive, you should receive something like that, in addition to many other things that you should be supported with.

“So, the National Assembly will definitely work with you, we will partner with you, and will ensure that we do our best to give you the kind of support that will enable you properly to discharge your mandate.

“Having said this, let me say that Nigeria as a country is in one way or the other a transit route for drugs. Drug peddlers pass their drugs through Nigeria – cannabis, heroin and possibly even cocaine.

“We believe that this has to stop, because the proceeds of such activities fund terrorism, they fund banditry, you wonder how the bandits have RPGs and these massive arms that they have. Definitely these are some acquisition provided by some barons, not the bandits themselves.

“So, we need to ensure that this transit role that Nigerians play is addressed properly. And here we have to approach this through multi-sectoral efforts – the Customs, Immigration Service, our Security Agencies, and in fact, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and our seaports.

“Of course, this is not going to be easy, but we have to be steadfast and we should do whatever is possible without the limited resources we have to make you better.”

Speaking on the drug addiction rate in Nigeria, Lawan underscored the need for multi-dimensional efforts across the various agencies of governments aimed at tackling underlying causes such as illiteracy, unemployment and poverty, responsible for the exposure of youths to criminal tendencies.

The Senate President also advocated for the inclusion of Drug Education in the curricular for schools and institutions of learning in Nigeria.

Lawan added: “We also believe that the drug addiction level in Nigeria is so bad that we are losing our youths to drug addiction. Like you have mentioned, the terrorists, insurgents, bandits and almost all the criminals have recourse to taking drugs to enhance their courage in order to undertake their illicit activities.

“So, there then is the need for us to step up our work on preventing our youths from taking the drugs, and that requires a lot of multi-dimensional efforts, because some may be due to lack of employment, some illiteracy, and poverty generally.

“These are some of the root causes. Somebody out of frustration is recruited to join. And, therefore, this is also something that the National Assembly has been trying hard to ensure that the economy of Nigeria provides for everyone – that we have an all inclusive economy bringing up those who are down.

“And I believe that this is one way that we have to continue to deal with this scourge. I also believe that we have to go on advocacy to our schools and institutions, and why not, even include in our curricular the issue of drugs, so that right from primary school up to secondary school level, our students should be able to understand the dangers of taking drugs.

“I believe that this is one incentive to criminality like you have just pointed out, so it is a huge responsibility placed on your shoulders, but you are not going to walk it alone, we are going to walk it with you.

“I want to urge you, that you get across to other agencies of government – like the immigration service, customs, airports authority, DSS – and the decay that you might have found is probably because the agency has not been able to have a better structure that will enable it fight drug trafficking and even addiction of the 21st century.”

Marwa on his part, said the Ninth Senate has “displayed great interest, competence, support and effort” on the review of the NDLEA Act.

“This is a very important step to correct some of the lapses in an Act that was promulgated way back in 1989”, he said.

According to Marwa, the visit was intended to “call for urgent intervention from the Senate President”, warning that, “Nigeria is in a state of siege today.”

Marwa raised the alarm that the drug addiction scourge was largely responsible for acts of criminalities which have pervaded all parts of the country, and the outcome witnessed in the spate of insecurity lately.

He lamented: “Yes, you have insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, but if you went to Ogoni to speak to somebody about insurgency, he might not be concerned.   

“If you go to some other parts of the country and speak of kidnapping in some areas, it’s not a major concern. If you go to some other areas and speak of banditry, it may not be of major concern.

“But when you enter the realm of drug abuse, every part of Nigeria, you can for sure say that everybody in this room knows somebody, or a neighbour or family that has affliction with drug abuse. The drug affliction is actually the number one problem we are facing, it is everywhere.”

“First of all, it destroys our kids, women, our youths, and the family system. Secondly, it is behind the criminalities everywhere now. You have to be crazy to commit some of these criminalities, and what fuels it is drug abuse. Even the insurgents and bandits themselves, they take drugs before they go into their activities,” Marwa added.

Tags: Ahmad Lawan and Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)banditryGeneral Buba Marwa (retd)President of the Senate
Rapheal

Rapheal

Related Posts

Ondo: 12 jostle for APC ticket
Politics

Anambra guber: APC caretaker committee to meet on timetable, sale of forms

14th April 2021
Anambra guber: APC’ll dethrone APGA in  November –Ogene
Politics

Anambra guber: APC’ll dethrone APGA in November –Ogene

14th April 2021
2023: The kind of President Nigerians should vote for –Chima, Reps member
Politics

2023: The kind of President Nigerians should vote for –Chima, Reps member

14th April 2021
Next Post

Africa Magic showcases new drama series, Elenini

After 30 years, Ehigiator ready to quit acting

After 30 years, Ehigiator ready to quit acting

Why I titled my album Alara Ire –  Omoshola Olayiwola, gospel singer

Why I titled my album Alara Ire - Omoshola Olayiwola, gospel singer

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Highlights

Women’s affirmative action in ECOWAS attainable with constitutional reviews – Speaker

PSG knock holders Bayern out of Champions League to reach semis

Chelsea see off Porto to reach semis despite Taremi stunner

NDC Commandant hails army chief on leadership qualities

…Nigeria’ll soon overcome problem, says RCCG General Overseer

Insecurity: Army engages retirees to support national security operations

Trending

Ramadan: We must care for the less privileged - Senator Uba Sani
National

Ramadan: We must care for the less privileged – Senator Uba Sani

14th April 2021
0

From Noah Ebije, Kaduna The senator representing Kaduna Central, Uba Sani, has called on Nigerians to use...

HIV/AIDS: US provides $6 billion dollars to Nigeria since 2003, says Consul-General

HIV/AIDS: US provides $6 billion dollars to Nigeria since 2003, says Consul-General

14th April 2021
Franco-Nigeria bilateral trade drops by $2.2 billion dollar in 2020 - Minister

Franco-Nigeria bilateral trade drops by $2.2 billion dollar in 2020 – Minister

14th April 2021
Women’s affirmative action in ECOWAS attainable with constitutional reviews – Speaker

Women’s affirmative action in ECOWAS attainable with constitutional reviews – Speaker

14th April 2021
PSG knock holders Bayern out of Champions League to reach semis

PSG knock holders Bayern out of Champions League to reach semis

14th April 2021

Follow us on social media:

Categories

  • Abuja Metro
  • Arts
  • Broken Tongues
  • Business
  • Business Week
  • Cartoons
  • Citizen Joe
  • Columns
  • Cover
  • Culture
  • Duro Onabule
  • Editorial
  • Education Review
  • Effect
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Features
  • Femi Adesina
  • Food & Drinks
  • Frank Talk
  • Funke Egbemode
  • Gallery
  • Global Square by Kenneth Okonkwo
  • Health
  • Insights
  • Kalu Leadership Series
  • Kunle Solaja
  • Kunle Solaja
  • Letters
  • Lifeline
  • Lifestyle
  • Literary Review
  • Marketing Matters
  • Muiz Banire
  • National
  • News
  • Offside Musings
  • Opinion
  • oriental news
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • PressClips
  • Public Sphere
  • Ralph Egbu
  • Shola Oshunkeye
  • Sideview
  • South-west Magazine
  • Sponsored Post
  • Sporting Sun
  • Sports
  • Sun Girl
  • Tea Time
  • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
  • The Sun Awards Live
  • The Sun TV
  • Thoughts & Talks
  • Time Out
  • Today's cover
  • Tola Adeniyi
  • Travel
  • Travel & Tourism
  • Trending
  • TSWeekend
  • Turf Game
  • Uncategorized
  • Updates
  • Views from Abroad
  • Voices
  • World
  • World News
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Paper Ad Rate
  • Online Ad Rate
  • The Team
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun

© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist