The Akwa Ibom State Command of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said it seized 165 kilogrammes of hard drugs from 105 youths in four months.
The state commander, Mrs. Obot Bassey, disclosed this on Monday at a panel to discuss the “Role of Hard Drugs in Teenage Cultism,” positioned to curb the rate of cultism in the state.
Bassey expressed concern over the alarming rate at which secondary school students are involved in the illicit drugs business, and heinous crimes such as rape, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping, as well as cultism.
She stressed the need for the state government to introduce drug testing in secondary schools as a way of detecting students whose violent actions were being influenced by drug abuse.
She said, “I resumed here four months ago, and in four months the NDLEA, Akwa Ibom State command has seized 165kilogrammes of hard drugs from 105 youths.
“It could be shocking and very alarming to see that last week, August 6 to be precise, a 26-year-old male was arrested with 1.2031kg of Cocaine worth N25 million, the highest seizure in Akwa Ibom state in 18 years. What will a 26-year-old be doing with N25 million?
“On finding solution to teenage cultism, my take on this is that we should look at the protective factors and how to bring children out of cultism in Akwa Ibom State. Parents need to know how to develop their ward.
“We (NDLEA) enjoin the commissioner for education Akwa Ibom State that before you send the students back to Uyo High School, you should get drug test kits, let them be tested before they are reabsorbed into the school. Heinous crimes such as kidnapping, banditry, rape, cultism are all hinged on hard drugs.”
