The Oyo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested 20 drug suspects during its mop up operations as a build up to May 29 inauguration of new administration in the country.
Its State Commander, Olayinka Joe-Fadile, made this known to newsmen while parading the arrested suspects at the command headquarters on Saturday in Ibadan.
Joe-Fadile said that the command also made seizures of about 2.96kg of cannabis sativa.
He noted that the arrested suspects comprised 18 males and two females who were mainly drug users.
He said that the command escalated mop up operations in addition to its statutory operations in response to the directive from the NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, to carry out serious intelligent mop up operations so that all our states would be safe for the inauguration.
The new state commander stated that his focus when he assumed duty on May 8, was to execute the provisions of the agency enabling Act.
“We are going after drug farms, manufacturers, distributors and users which we see as victims.
“We counsel, rehabilitate, reintegrate them to the society while the hardened drug marchants will be prosecuted according to the provisions of law.
“We have lots of forest in the state which has made cannabis planting convenient.
“Our target is to destroy these drug from farms before they get to maturity and get to market, we will also mop up the few that escape to the market.
“The command recently discovered and destroyed a drug farm at Olosun village in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state and we are going for more.
“Drug is a catalyst for every violent and non violent crime, as long as we can get drugs off the streets, we can assure the populists that May 29 would be as peaceful as possible.
“We intend to keep arrested suspects as possible and release them back to society after May 29 inauguration through social reintegration procedures,” he said.
The commander also cautioned that the drug war in Nigeria continued and would not be business as usual noting that the new sheriff in town would not tolerate illicit drug business.
“The command is ready to go to any length to pick every drug baron without any sacred cow and anyone pick up for the offense that is prosecutable would face full wrath of the law,” he said.
He commended the support and cooperation of the stakeholders in the state such as royal fathers, religious leaders, security outfits and government functionaries while calling for more synergy to make the state drug free.