NIGERIA. Lagos State. Oyo State: “More than 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 16 to 64 are under the influence of drug abuse and among them one in four drug users are female,” Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Buba Marwa said this in a public lecture. Marwa was speaking at a public lecture organised by United Action for Change (UAC) in Lagos.
He said that drug abuse is most common in Oyo and Lagos states.
“Above 14.3 million Nigerians abuse drugs, with the south-west zone topping the scale of abusers”, Marwa said.
Marwa frowned at the rate of drug abuse in Nigeria, saying the country is highest in the use of cannabis.
“Nigeria’s drug abuse breakdown should be a thing of concern for every Nigerian. It is sad seeing such statistics coming out of the country.”
“Obviously, cannabis is the most abused substance by Nigerians. That is disturbing, however, it is surprising 10.6 million Nigerians abuse the use of cannabis” Marwa noted.
Marwa added that the statistics make Nigeria the number one in the use of cannabis. Interestingly, 10.6 million is more than the combined population of Botswana and Lesotho.
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“Majority of the drug abusers started at the age of 19, and the highest level of usage is concentrated in youth between 25 and 29,” Marwa said.
The most abuse of the substance is recorded in the southern geopolitical zone of the country, with the south-west having the most cases with more than four million Nigerians consumers of the various drugs.
The Lagos and Oyo axis is considered the hub of drug abuse in Nigeria.
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