The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control has said that its operatives intercepted and seized 33 containers of Tramadol which were being conveyed to a yet-to-be-ascertained location in the country.
The NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Christiana Adeyeye, disclosed this in Abuja while speaking at the National Chemical Security Training Conference.
She also noted that operatives also seized three trucks filled with Tramadol at the Apapa Ports in Lagos State.
The chemical conference was jointly organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chemical Security Programme.
The NAFDAC DG said that an emergency should be declared over the abuse of drugs by youths and children in the country.
Adeyeye said, “We have to declare an emergency because of our youths and children who are abusing hard drugs. As I speak, we have about 33 containers of Tramadol that we intercepted. Those are the ones we could see. Some have exited the ports.
“We have a big problem in the country and we have to declare an emergency because of our youths and children who are abusing drugs and families being disintegrated.
“About five weeks ago, NAFDAC intercepted a 40-feet container of Tramadol and two trucks exiting the Apapa ports. We were told that these vehicles were heading for Yola and the eventual destination may be the Sambisa Forest.
“How can a young girl agree to have bombs tie around her, if not that her mind has been stolen through drugs? So, we have a problem to tackle. With the 33 containers, it means that some other containers are yet to be identified. We also have a problem with our porous borders.”
The National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (Rtd), said children used by the Boko Haram terrorists for suicide bombings in the North-East acted under the influence of drugs.
The NSA said this was the reason for the government’s “strict control measures for importation, manufacture, distribution, storage and usage of drugs in the country.”
Monguno, who was represented by the Coordinator of the Counter Terrorism Centre, Rear Admiral Yem Musa, said that relevant government agencies would work together to control “the importation, transportation and use of these sensitive substances” to make them out of the reach of criminal elements.
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