The Nasarawa State Government has linked rising criminality and other social vices to drug abuse, describing the fight against the menace as critical to maintaining peace and security in the state.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Labaran Magaji, made this known on Monday in Lafia, when the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Commander in the state, Mr Saidu Daniel, paid him a familiarisation visit.
Magaji described drug abuse as a growing concern, saying that its effects were being felt in families across the state.
He attributed political thuggery, school dropout and other social problems partly to substance abuse.
“Drug abuse is worrisome. Virtually in every family, you can hardly find one or two persons who are not engaging in it,” he said.
The SSG said the NDLEA’s work was crucial and urged the government to prioritise support for the agency to enable it discharge its responsibilities effectively.
Magaji said Nasarawa state has enjoyed relative peace compared with some other states in the North Central zone, attributing the situation to Gov. Abdullahi Sule’s leadership and collaboration with security agencies.
“Nasarawa State is now one of the places where security agencies do not find it difficult to do their work.
“The state has relative peace compared to what is happening in other states within the North Central geopolitical zone,” he said.
He, however, acknowledged that pockets of criminality had persisted despite the relative peace, coupled with longstanding security challenges.
The SSG said the state government provided monthly subvention and logistical support to security agencies, although they are federal institutions.
He assured the NDLEA commander that the government would address the agency’s logistical challenges.
Earlier, Daniel said his visit was intended to strengthen cooperation between the NDLEA and the state government and seek additional support, particularly for logistics.
Daniel described the country’s drug situation as challenging, with new and dangerous substances emerging.
“When I hear about some of the drugs nowadays, I would not even have imagined them when I joined the job in 1995,” he said.
He stressed the need to confront drug abuse decisively, warning of the consequences of failing to address the problem.
The commander assured that his team would continue to combat drug abuse and related offences in the state.