Over the course of 2024, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) Adamawa State Command detained 536 alleged drug offenders and seized 4,880 kg of illegal substances.
Agboalu Samson, the agency’s state commander, revealed this information in Yola on Monday. He stated that 18 of the suspects were women and 518 were men.
The NDLEA commander stated at a review press conference in Yola that 3,180.36422 kilos of cannabis sativa and 1,700.29013 kilograms of psychotropic drugs had been seized.
According to his breakdown, the seizures included 19.932 kilograms of cough syrups containing codeine (44,592 milliliters), 6.8665 kilos of Diazepam (33,259 tablets), 577.60667 kilograms of Exol-5 (1,636,989 tablets), and 1,090.63296 kilograms of Tramadol (or 1,758,868 capsules, pills, and milliliters).
According to him, among the substances found were 1.4 kilos (15 bottles) of Akuskura herbal mixture, 0.015 kilograms of cocaine, 5 kilograms (22 bottles) of formalin (known locally as Suck and Die), and 0.0381 kilograms of methamphetamine.
He voiced concern that the variety of the narcotics found highlights the changing nature of drug trafficking and abuse in Adamawa State.
Nonetheless, he noted that his command’s legal efforts produced impressive results, resulting in 148 convictions in 2024 with penalties ranging from three months to 25 years.
He stated that there are still 59 cases pending at the Federal High Court in Yola, and that 143 of the convicted offenders were men and five were women, all between the ages of 18 and 65.
He said that during the year under review, the Command’s Drug Demand Reduction Unit admitted 52 clients for counseling and rehabilitation, 40 of whom completed the program successfully.
