The battle against illegal drugs is a shared responsibility, according to Beatrice Etta Nyiam, chairman of the Boki Local Government Council in Cross River State.
Community leaders should report drug users and dealers to law enforcement, she urged.
Speaking to Buda Ward stakeholders at a peace-building event in Kachuan Irruan, Nyiam commended the ward’s history of peaceful coexistence in spite of Boki boundary tensions but cautioned that drug abuse poses a threat to such stability.
As leaders, it is your responsibility to notify the NDLEA or the police of anyone abusing illegal drugs.
“Offenders must face the law, regardless of their age or gender,” she stated.
She promised that in order to find long-term solutions to the drug problem, the Council would fortify its relationships with local communities.
While retired AIG and Governor’s Security Adviser Mr. John Abang stressed that communities must take responsibility for guiding their youths and collaborating closely with security agencies, Vice Chairman Lawrence Akan added that landlords who rent homes to drug dealers exacerbate the issue.
Speaking as well, Comd. Osang Abua Peter, Commander of the Buda Vigilante, expressed concern about the increasing drug use in the ward, calling it the most urgent security issue.
Officials from the Civil Defense Corps, NDLEA, community leaders, youth organizations, and women leaders attended the meeting and pledged their support for the Council’s anti-drug abuse initiative.
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