The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) have called for the declaration of a national state of emergency on hard drug addiction among children and adolescents in Nigeria.
They made the demand on Tuesday in Abuja during the 2025 Public Lecture with the theme, ‘Keeping Nigerian Children Free From Hard Drugs: A Task For All’ organised by HURIWA.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), represented by the agency’s Executive Secretary Shedrack Haruna, identified the challenges declaring the fight against illicit drugs “is not just a law enforcement issue; it is a developmental, humanitarian, and moral imperative.”
Marwa said, “The Nigerian child today stands at a crossroads—between creativity and destruction, between education and addiction.”
Marwa further revealed that NDLEA field reports in the last four years show a disturbing increase in drug use among teenagers and children, with some as young as 10 being introduced to psychoactive substances like tramadol, cannabis cookies, flavored vapes, rohypnol, and the deadly Mkpuru Mmiri (methamphetamine).
He recounted a recent case of a 14-year-old boy in a rural secondary school who collapsed during inter-house sports practice, only for doctors to discover he had become addicted to codeine syrup introduced by a neighbour.
“Children are being used as drug mules, carriers, and even sellers in some communities,” he warned. “This paints a grim picture but also highlights our urgent obligation to act—now.”
According to Marwa, the NDLEA has launched several initiatives under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme, including formation of Drug-Free Clubs in schools and universities and sensitisation campaigns targeting faith-based and traditional institutions.
He also issued a call to parents, educators, content creators, musicians, and religious leaders to stop ignoring or glamorising drug abuse and instead become advocates for change.
“To the music industry: stop glorifying drug use in your songs and videos. Our children are watching, listening, and imitating. The pulpit, the palace, and the classroom must become safe spaces for guidance,” Marwa stated.
HURIWA in its welcome address delivered by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko warned that the nation is at risk of losing an entire generation to drug abuse if urgent action is not taken.
Onwubiko described the situation as “a national catastrophe” and urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently act.
“Nigeria is currently facing a major crisis of hard drugs addiction by young Nigerians and this is not a joke,” Onwubiko said.
“Nigerian kids are almost as badly affected as some young addicts in the UK who have suffered irreversible damage from drugs like ketamine.”
Quoting international and local reports, Onwubiko cited data from the United Nations revealing that 14.4% of Nigeria’s population aged 15 to 64 are involved in drug abuse—nearly three times the global average.
He warned that the continued neglect of this crisis would deepen insecurity, economic instability, and social decay.
“One in five drug users in Nigeria suffers from disorders requiring urgent medical attention,” he said. “In correctional facilities, over 82% of boys have psychiatric disorders, many of them triggered by substance abuse.”
Onwubiko warned, “Dangerous people are roaming Nigeria, looking for children to destroy through drugs. We must fight back as a nation. We are calling on President Tinubu to declare a national emergency on hard drugs.”
Delivering the lecture, former Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof Sadeeque Abba identified funding gap, outdated law, lack of collaboration with the Local governments and institutional weakness are some of the issues plaguing the fight against illicit drugs.
He questioned sources of hard drugs saying, “If they are being produced locally, who certify those companies producing those drugs, who monitor those companies in terms of not only quality, but the quantity that they produce, and the quantities produced in Nigeria, over and above our required consumption.”
Abba called for a general assessment and change of strategy to tackle what he calls the malaise plaguing the “young generation in the country.”
