Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Kano State has chided the police for misleading the public for claiming that it seized a total of 303 cartoons of tramadol worth N1billlion in the state.
Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday, the Kano State Commander, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul, said that what the police actually intercepted at the premises in the state were cartoons of a pain killers known as “declofenac” and not tramadol.
He rebuked the police for rushing to the press soon after their seizure, when they were supposed to have reached out to NDLEA with the suspects and the exhibits, adding that they ought to have contacted the agency also to verify whether the drugs they intercepted were actually tramadol or not, before the press conference.
He was worried that the police had committed a similar blunder in the past, recalling that in February, they made a similar claim which turned out that they seized nothing but anti-malaria and anti-biotic drugs.
He explained that Section 3 sub section 1(b) of the NDLEA Act empower them to coordinate all drug-related cases in Nigeria just as he added that the police have no powers to prosecute drug suspects.
He appealed to the police and other sister security agencies to discharge their mandate within the provisions of the law while commending the police for its commitments to fighting drugs in the state.
“I also commend CP Wakili for his commitment to fighting drug abuse in Kano State but I will equally draw his attention towards remaining within the purview of the law in discharging his duties,” he stated.