Pubdate: Sun, 05 Aug 2007
Source: Tide, The (Nigeria)
Copyright: 2007 The Tide
Contact:  http://www.thetidenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3973
Author: Dr Tolofari
Note: Dr Tolofari is a director in the Ministry of  Information, Port Harcourt.

DRUG TRAFFICKING AND NIGERIA'S IMAGE

Nigeria has a lot of problems. And one of these  problems is drug 
trafficking. No year passes without  cases of drug trafficking being 
reported in the  country. Meanwhile, the National Drug Law 
Enforcement Agency in Rivers State has arrested sixty two 
suspected  drug traffickers and seized 291.18 kilogrammes of 
hard  drugs. According to the Assistant State Commander of  the 
Agency, Mr. Adamu Agege, the arrests and seizures  were made between 
January and June 2007. He said that  of the sixty two suspects, fifty 
three were males while  nine were females.

Mr. Agege further announced that twenty seven suspects  were 
convicted at the Federal High Court while thirty  one others are 
awaiting trial. In the meantime, it has  been revealed that more than 
two hundred million people  used one form of hard drug or the other 
daily. It should also be noted that the use of such drugs has led  to 
violent crimes such as armed robbery, murder, rape,  hostage-taking, 
cultism and threat to national  security. Ninety per cent of crime in 
this country are  committed under the influence of hard drugs.

However, there had been earlier cases of drug  trafficking in 
Nigeria. Not long ago, a popular  Nigerian actress, Hassanat Taiwo 
Akinwande, also known  as Wunmi was sentenced to three years 
imprisonment by a federal high court sitting in Lagos for 
drug  trafficking. According to report, the actress excreted  92 
wraps of cocaine when caught by officers of the  National Drug Law 
Enforcement Agency at the Mururtala Mohammed International Airport in 
September 2006. It  will be remembered that a Nigerian teenager, 
Iwuchukwu  Amara Tochi was executed by the Singaporean 
authorities  for drug trafficking. His execution was carried out 
on  JanuaryA A 26, 2007.

The boy was arrested at the Singaporean Changi Airport  in November, 
2004, for carrying about 727 grammes of  heroin valued at 970,000 
dollars after arriving from  Dubai. He was convicted in December, 
2005. His  execution was carried out in spite of a letter of  appeal 
by the Nigerian government for forgiveness.

It will further be remembered that twenty Nigerians  were killed in 
Indonesia for trafficking in drugs.  According to reports, some of 
the Nigerians were  arrested at the country's airport where security 
screening revealed that they had swallowed grammes of  cocaine. 
Others were arrested during police raids of  hideout of drug dealers 
in Indonesia. In his comments,  the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, 
Alhaji Sai'du  Mohammed lamented that the activities of drug 
trafficking Nigerians were the biggest problems the  Nigerian Embassy 
had to contend within that country.

Meanwhile, 36,000 kilogrammes of marijuana was  destroyed in Edo 
state early in 2007, while 127  suspects were arrested in connection 
with the offence.  Only recently 275 drug barons were arrested in 
Calabar, Cross River State by the State Command of the National  Drug 
Law Enforcement Agency. Revealing this fact at a  workshop in 
Calabar, the State Commander, Mr. Tony Ray  Ene, said that a total of 
668.077 narcotic substances  were impounded during the arrest. He 
pointed out that  cannabis related arrests and seizures topped the list.

In any case, drugs usually trafficked include madras,  marijuana, 
Indian hemp and cannabis. Most of these  drugs cause a lot of harm to 
the human body. Many  mental cases are also traced to indiscriminate 
use of  these drugs. Drug traffickers and peddlers should  consider 
the consequences of their activities and  desist from that dangerous 
and illegal trade. We should  realise that no community or individual 
is free where  drug business thrives.

In fact, some Nigerians ought to be ashamed of  themselves for 
bringing disgrace to their fatherland.  It is quite embarrassing to 
think of citizens of this  country travelling to other lands to 
engage in drug  trafficking and other criminal activities 
thereby  lowering the reputation of Nigeria. This should 
be  condemned in its entirety. At this stage, we appeal to  Nigerians 
to stop the illegal trade in drugs.

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Dr Tolofari is a director in the Ministry of  Information, Port Harcourt.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman