The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has trained police officers in the medical unit of the Nigeria Police Force on drug prevention, treatment and care.
The three day training held at the Force Headquarters, Abuja from Monday to Wednesday was organised by the Police Counselling and Support Unit, with technical support from the UNODC and had in attendance more than 30 policemen from different ranks in the medical unit.
Addressing participants at the event, the National Programme Officer, Drug Demand Reduction, for UNODC, Dr Akanidomo Ibanga, said the training would help the officers in combating drug abuse.
He said: “We planned this training before the coming of COVID-19, but I am glad it is holding now. We did one in the Southwest, South South and now the North Central.
Many risk factors lead to drug abuse, including the availability of drugs in Nigeria, unemployment, poverty, economics environment, culture, among others.
“Governments in different countries are doing what they can to address the situation. In recent years, government has put much effort towards curtailing drug abuse in Nigeria. The president set up a presidential advisory committee, the first of its kind, to tackle the menace. We also had the Senate President Roundtable, also the first of its kind, while 18 Northern Governors Wives also held EPT sensitisation programme. All these hadn’t happened before at the government level, which gives us hope that they are doing something to address the situation.
“The prevalence rate of drug abuse is high in Nigeria. There is a 14.4 percent annual use in Nigeria, whereas the global annual rate is 5.6. Therefore, counsellors have professional roles to play. From our recent research, 80 percent of high risk drug users sought for treatment, but out of this, 40 percent could not get help for several reasons. The 40 percent represents 150,000 people. The treatment capacity is 5,000 in a year.
“Drug use is not limited to profession. You have doctors, nurses, lawyers, among others, using drugs. So, we have people from different backgrounds and should have it in mind while proffering solution.
“What we are doing here in this sensitisation workshop is to raise awareness and knowledge of police officers with regards to drugs and related issues. We also have to reduce stigma, which is as a result of lack of knowledge. Once we can do this, it will evolve in policies that are evidence based and that will lead to action that will be helpful in combating the negative impacts of drug abuse.
“Help is available for drug users. We have trained officers willing to support them in recovery effort. For government, we need to understand that drug use is a security issue and affects a lot of things within the community and we need to device a means of tackling the issues. Government can fund evidence based strategies to tackle the menace.”
Also speaking, Substance Abuse Counselor and the Master Trainer for UNODE, Maria Ilugbuhi, who is also the founder of The Shelter NGO, Lagos, said that drug abuse can be combated with collaboration from government and individuals.
She said: “This programme will help to give police officers adequate information about drugs, drug prevention, treatment and care. We will tackle drug abuse if we focus more on prevention. There are things that can be done at the prenatal, natal, adolescent, adult stages of life to prevent drug use. Even the setting is important, be it family, school, etc.
“Government is doing what it can, given the resources. Over 40 million people use drugs in Nigeria and government is trying on supply reduction, which is why we have the NDLEA. What we want is government to give more priority to drug demand reduction, as they do in supply reduction. The same resources should be committed to the two purposes. Harm reduction is another strategy that government and stakeholders should adopt in combating drug abuse. Many users are already addicted and can’t easily stop. So, while we are telling them to stop, what can we do for them to be healthy, alive and productive? “Also, problematic drug users should seek help. There are treatment centres even in NDLEA, which are free. There is one in every state, so you can walk in there and ask for the counselling unit. Government should know that we cannot eradicate drugs totally, but can fight it strategically.
“They should leave petty peddlers and target high and mighty sellers, those who have warehouses and large farms. This is because when government cause their operations to freeze, who then are these small fries? So, government should be open to other strategies, apart from supply reduction.”
