According to Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retired), chairman and chief executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, internal reforms are the reason why the agency has been successful in combating illegal drugs in the nation.
He claims that the agency has been undergoing reform, which has led to the capture of numerous drug lords and the cartels they control.
At the 14th Biennial International Conference on Drugs, Alcohol, and Society in Africa, which had as its theme “Towards the reform of drug legislation and policy in Africa: Research, practice, and advocacy consideration,” Marwa made these points in his keynote speech.
journalists in Abuja on Wednesday night, organized by the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse.
Restructuring the NDLEA, he continued, “became important in view of the worrying findings of the National Drug Use and Health Survey done in 2018 which indicated that Nigeria’s drug use prevalence at 14.4% was considerably beyond the global threshold of 5.6%. The NDLEA has been undergoing a reform process for the past 21 months, and as a result, the organization’s administration, structure, and activities have undergone tectonic shifts. As a result, reforms are to thank for the NDLEA’s supercharged performance in the areas of arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and seizures.
The laws that founded the agency and other regulations that served as the foundation for the nation’s campaign to combat drug use, he claimed, were also included in the changes.
The agency now has a dynamic drug control framework in which prevention and treatment are well-established thanks to the reforms, he continued.
Marwa emphasized the need for changes to drug laws, policies, and how they are implemented. He recalled that, until recently, drug law enforcement in Nigeria was constrained by out-of-date legislation, with the resulting policies and practices he observed being insufficient to address issues with illicit substances.
According to him, rather than resolving issues, the application of the law, methodology, and practices fuels criminalization and does little to stop drug consumption and criminal activity.
Change is inevitable, as the phrase goes, Marwa added. New perspectives on substance misuse have emerged in recent decades. An international gradual and systematic shift in drug control viewpoints has resulted in the replacement of outdated laws and policies with new ones that reflect the current understanding of illicit substances from the perspectives of law enforcement, socioeconomics, and health.
For instance, the brand-new National Drug Control Master Plan, 2021–2025, recognizes drug use disorder as a public health concern with a focus on treatment. A cascading impact has occurred.
Even while the agency is working to increase access to care and the first of six regional model rehabilitation centers is now being built, we currently have a 24/7 toll-free drug misuse phone center. Along these lines, the NDLEA is attempting to increase the number of police participating in drug demand reduction initiatives.
For example, the NDLEA adopted a new manual of Standard Policy and Practice Guidelines in 2021 for its counselors and healthcare providers across the nation. The SPPG is a comprehensive guide created with UNODC’s assistance and supported by the European Union for “those who are managing persons who use drugs.”
The new Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Act 2022, which was signed into law in September, represents a significant reform on the topic of drug use and misuse. The new regulation will offer more control to activities within the pharmacy profession and aid in reducing the abuse of pharmaceutical medications. Similar to this, the statute creating the NDLEA is being amended after being reviewed by all pertinent parties who contributed and agreed on crucial areas.
Marwa stated that the nation’s drug policies were also being reviewed, but she was certain that the National Assembly would approve the modified NDLEA Bill into law.
“Those who have been keeping up with national drug policy trends can easily spot a progressive change in our society’s perspective on illicit drug concerns. We have also started engaging in extensive advocacy, exemplified by the NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign, which was launched in 2021.
Prof. Isidore Obot, executive director of CRISA, noted that there were positioned encouraging developments in a number of nations, including Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, that demonstrated the readiness of policy makers and citizens to embrace progressive drug policies that took into account scientific evidence and the human rights of people who use drugs.
He said that the conference’s theme was chosen to draw attention to the rising global demand for drug policy change, which centered emphasis on, among other things, the accessibility and availability of evidence-based treatment, early interventions, and harm reduction.
“I think that there have been improvements in our understanding of the drug issues in an increasing number of African nations. We are now in a better position than we were a few years ago to address the supply and demand challenges that face policy makers in an increasing number of our countries, according to Obot, thanks to the high level of concern demonstrated by some governments and the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union.
