… Seeks partnership with NDLEA
ASHENEWS reports that the frontline traditional ruler in Delta state, Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Ikenchuku has warned drug dealers to flee his kingdom or risk the repercussions.
He stated this when he met with the Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) in Abuja.
The monarch who noted that the visit was to seek a partnership that would end the activities of drug dealers in his kingdom lauded the NDLEA for its commitment to tackling drug abuse and trafficking.
“we’ve been having some issues with drug dealers in Agbor. We’ve tried to handle it once or twice, but we’d like to at least be able to provide some land to have NDLEA come to Agbor. My main hope is Gen Marwa right here. Everything he touches turns to gold. Since he came on board at NDLEA, you people were reinvigorated.
“And I have seen that since he came on board, the drug dealers are now more hesitant, and we need more of that. So, we continue to learn from his experience and continue to make sure that this Agency is strengthened as much as we can.
He said his desire to bring NDLEA into his kingdom is to eliminate the activities of drug dealers and protect his people from the devastating effects of illicit substances destroying the lives of youths and adults all over the world.
The monarch noted that the partnership with NDLEA is to send a strong message to drug dealers that their time is up in his kingdom.
According to him, “I always try to tell criminals, that life is left and right, good and bad, up and down. If you are intelligent enough to be selling drugs, then you deserve to go to jail. You deserve to be incarcerated because that intelligence can also lead you to be selling houses or to be selling goods. Do something that doesn’t affect people negatively. Because every drug dealer doesn’t want their children taking these hard drugs. But they don’t mind their neighbour next door taking such drugs. It is destroying us as a nation.
“Kidnappers are now using these illicit drugs to go about their nefarious activities. The reduction of it in our society will bring down the crime rate, robberies, and so on.
“So, my message to the drug dealers, beware, you are on notice; we do not want you in Agbor; we do not want you in our country.”
On his part, the NDLEA Chairman expressed the readiness of the Agency to collaborate with all stakeholders including traditional rulers and community gatekeepers to ensure that the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking is stamped out from communities across the country.
“We’re at the moment deploying our personnel to the local government areas to establish our presence at the grassroots to further our advocacy against substance abuse and enforce the law against those dealing in illicit drugs at that level.
“Towards that, we met with the leadership of ALGON last week to make this process seamless and we welcome the support and partnership with all stakeholders for successful implementation of all our drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, through a whole of society approach,” the NDLEA boss stated.
