By Nehru Odeh
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA (Lagos State Strategic Command), has taken its fight against illicit drugs in Nigeria to a new higher. And it has done so in collaboration with Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative, ECAPI, a security non-governmental organisation, in a two-day training programme aimed at eradicating illicit drugs in Nigeria through intelligence gathering and advocacy.
The two-day training programme themed “Anti-Drugs Field Intelligence And Advocacy Agent Training,” organised at the instance of ECAPI, held on 28 and 29 August at Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area Secretariat, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos.
It was lectures and revelations galore. Not only were the trainees, who were trained as detectives and undercover agents, enlightened on how to win the war against drugs, but many things that were hitherto not known, such as the various kinds of drugs, the ways they are concealed, as well as the identification and integrity of evidence and the intricacies of drug abuse, were revealed.
Trainees also practised community sensitisation and anti-drug advocacy techniques, among other things. And at the end of the day, graduands, already grounded in the modus operandi of the war against drugs, were issued ID cards and certificates.
However, what made the training programme remarkable was that it was a collaboration between state and non-state actors in which officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency trained members of Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative on how to eradicate drugs in society through intelligence gathering and advocacy. And it would go a long way in assisting and supporting the NDLEA, as it now has field intelligence officers, detectives (undercover agents) and advocates spread across the country at its disposal to help fight against illicit drugs.
“This training NDLEA is giving us is free. And it does not involve anything more than training our children and Nigerians. We want to support the NDLEA mandate. That’s just what we stand for in ECAPI,” Amb. Mayor Eniola Adam, President, ECAPI, said.
After CN Abubakar Uman Wali, the Commandant, NDLEA, Lagos State Strategic Command, flagged off the event, the Chairman of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Council, Otunba Kehinde Oloyede, gave the keynote address. While ECAPI President, Amb. Samuel Eniola Adam gave his goodwill message.
Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, who displayed a sense of professionalism throughout the programme, went full throttle as, one after the other, they took the trainees on relevant topics, using tools and techniques such as PowerPoint and Case Studies to deliver their lectures.
Some of the NDLEA officers who delivered lectures in the two-day training programme and their topics included AGGN Jane Ibiba (rtd) –‘Synopsis of the National Drug Control Master Plan’; CN Chinerem Eziaghighala – ‘Drug Situation in Lagos and the way forward’; ACN Yusuf Kaita – ‘Modes of concealment of Drugs- Case Study’; CN Lamuwa Shehu – ‘Understanding Drug Abuse Prevention Education’; and Abdulaziz Akinsola – ‘The Imperatives of Community Relations with LEAS.’
The trainees were also divided into three groups and given assignments to test their knowledge, which they showcased on the final day. The first group spoke about how parents can help stop drug abuse. The second group spoke about drug abuse in schools and how to curb it from the students’ perspective. While the third group spoke about how to carry advocacy to the area boys and thugs who are addicted to drugs in parks and garages.
“In a nutshell, I can tell you that the trainees here have really done justice by coming here today to learn, and they have something to go home with,” Det. Reagan Onuoha, ECAPI Lagos State Commander, said.
Speaking with newsmen, Amb. Mayor Eniola Adam, President and founder, Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative, expressed his appreciation to the NDLEA, especially its Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, “who has been working tirelessly to make sure drug crime is eradicated in Nigeria.
“We called on them (NDLEA) to come educate and enlighten our people in the area of undercover, that is, as forms of detectives, to give information about all these drug cartels in our society, for the sake of our children, the youths. Because of the lack of jobs, the majority of our youths have turned to illicit drugs and other related crimes.”
Adam also spoke on the reason the collaboration between NDLEA and ECAPI, an organisation which has been in existence for nine years, was necessary and what the two-day training programme has achieved.
“The reason for organising this event is because of our children. If you go to all the streets and communities, you will see a lot of children roaming about taking drugs. I can tell you authoritatively that most of our members intercept them. Our membership strength is over 250,000, that is, those who are registered. In Lagos, we have over 50,000 members.
“And that is why we told NDLEA, ‘ you can’t do this job alone.’ Because the staff strength is not there. And with our strength, moving with NDLEA, giving the well-processed information about all these black spots, we are going to get results, and our community will be drug-free.
“We have achieved a lot since yesterday because I saw what I hadn’t seen in my life yesterday. They gave us raw practicals and showed us what they call drugs. They brought all the necessary drugs that we are supposed to know, which are harmful to human consumption. We saw it live yesterday. So I want to give kudos to the NDLEA. They are the best when it comes to eradicating drugs in our society.
“The question is, what can we do for our community? What can we do for our country? That’s what we need to know, not what we want to achieve. How can we save the lives of our children, our young ones not from going into drugs? That’s our concern in ECAPI,” Adam noted.
HRM Prof. Oloruntoba Timothy, the Oluokun of Okunland, for his part, said it had been a wonderful two days and wished the event were a one-week or one-year programme. According to him, the government has done so much, but it still needs the support of non-state actors.
“The government is trying to do their own, but the effort is not good enough. And that is why ECAPI is coming in. Unfortunately, this is the only organisation in Nigeria that has taken the bull by the horns to fight this cause with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency… And something struck me the very first day I was introduced to ECAPI, the vision and the mission,” the traditional ruler, who is also a professor of surgery and has been with ECAPI since inception, said.
Chief Mrs Omotayo Oyeyemi, National Provost, Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative, said she was happy to be part of the programme. She had seen what the youths are going through on the road and is not happy about it. “Being part of this has given me the privilege to fight drugs in our country as a whole. At least, when I hear something, I see something, and I say something. It is now my duty to campaign. I am now already thinking of how to start from my own community, how to talk to the landlords to come out and let’s talk about this. Let’s teach them how to detect drugs in the community and how to help our youths in our area,” she maintained.
Oyeyemi also said parents have a lot to do in this fight against illicit drugs. But the truth is, our parents have a lot to do. I campaign from school to school. When I go to schools, what I tell parents are some of the things I know. We shouldn’t be too busy for our children. Parents are too busy chasing after money, and these children are too busy doing many things. Some parents would say, ‘I can vouch for my child, I trust my child.’ No, not anymore. The only child you can trust is the one you are looking at inside your room. The moment he leaves the house, forget about it. So we need to teach our parents how to detect these things. So it is the parents that are going to help us here,” Oyeyemi noted.
Chief Praveed K. Sham, who has lived in Nigeria for 46 years and is part of ECAPI, is seeing the fight against illicit drugs from the perspective of a patriot. “This is our country. We have to make our country proud. We have to educate our children. All these drugs are good for health. That’s my message to all parents and children. This is our country. We must protect our country,” Sham said.
Det. Kemi Ewans, one of the participants, has been with ECAPI for the past four years. According to her, the reason she joined the organisation was to help humanity, community policing and the NDLEA advocacy. “We found out that the government can’t do everything alone. It can’t be everywhere. We represent it. But with this, we now have a direct link with the NDLEA. We can call them. And apart from that, we have churches, we have mosques around. We can go around and talk to them about the dangers of going into drugs. Call the youths, encourage and advise them. My children are my tomorrow. So I can’t imagine my tomorrow being destroyed. It’s not the best. So we really need to come all out. It shouldn’t even be limited to a few of us alone. We should take this campaign out there, to parks, churches, let them know the danger because we are breeding our tomorrow,” she said
Asked what she has gained from the training programme, Ewans averred: “I have known the dangers of drugs. There are some drugs I never knew existed. I only heard of ice, but I don’t know what ice is. The first time I heard of ice, I thought it was this normal ice. But that ended yesterday. I have learnt a lot concerning the different types of drugs, not only hard drugs but also supposedly normal drugs.”
Det. Bose Olubo Adegeye, the National Publicity Director for ECAPI, said she was delighted that she had been volunteering since she was 12 years old. However, being part of the two-day programme was the first time she was most delighted. “But this is the first time I am most delighted because the issue of drugs is alarming among the youths, the smaller ones, and the elderly. So today I am very happy that I participated. So I am empowered. I can now talk with confidence. With what I learnt here, I can put two and two together and preach the gospel among people. Let them know the effects of different drugs and how they can affect their lives, their living and the community globally. How can it affect everyone? So, today I am very happy. I say thank you to NDLEA, thank you to ECAPI for bringing up this kind of conference,” Adegeye enthused.
Det. Reagan Onuoha, ECAPI Lagos State Commander and the National Training Co-ordinator, expressed his appreciation to CN Abubakar Liman Wali, Commander, Lagos Strategic Command, for giving ECAPI the privilege to assist the NDLEA “to propagate the gospel, so to say, speaking to our communities.
“The fight against drugs is a one-billion-dollar fight. And coming here together with the NDLEA team to train our members on how to advocate is the right step in the right direction. And we can see the enthusiasm on the faces of all the members of Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative. They’ve done wonderfully well. They coordinated from the beginning. Today is the grand finale, where they will be issued ID Cards and certificates. They have been cooperative. They have been orderly. And right in there now, they are doing presentations.
“This is basically for ECAPI members. We train our members to be able to go out there to disseminate information that can help the populace live better lives. Most people are languishing in penury because they lack information. We believe that once you have information, you will be able to know what to do at every point in time. So this collaboration between NDLEA and Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative came in a way that only ECAPI members will be trained. It is only our members you will find here today. This is just one per cent of our membership,” Onuoha said.
However, Onuoha also said security is everyone’s business and urged the general public to assist the government with the necessary information and support to fight crime. “Security is not one man’s business. It is not just the police business. Security is everyone’s business. And we should put our hands on deck to ensure that the menace of insecurity is tackled right from our communities, in the sense that our Kabiyesis, religious leaders, community leaders will come in and rally around organizations like ECAPI, and be able to speak to their wards because it is not enough for us to come and talk to you and you are not also doing the needful at your corner. So once we talk to the leaders, the students, we also want the parents to continue with this advocacy. It is not just an ECAPI/NDLEA project. It is everybody’s project,” Onuoha maintained.
The issuance of certificates and ID cards signalled the end of a two-day training programme that was not only educative but also informative and revelatory. And as the participants went home armed with the invaluable knowledge gained at the event, they knew they already had the requisite professional techniques they needed for advocacy and intelligence gathering.
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