The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has emphasised that the initiative for drug integrity testing among youth corps members, prospective couples, and others is not intended as a punitive measure.
Naija News reports that the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), made this statement during a meeting with the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, who visited the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, accompanied by senior officials of the NYSC.
Marwas stressed that instead, the test aims to deter substance abuse and facilitate early intervention for individuals who test positive, preventing the escalation of their condition into drug dependence and associated health issues.
He extended his congratulations to the NYSC leader on his recent appointment and characterised the scheme as a national asset and a significant tool for fostering national unity.
The DLEA boss said: “The drug scourge has continued to devastate our kids, families, and communities everywhere. There’s nowhere you go in the country that you don’t have a drug abuse problem. One in seven Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 uses drugs.
“You have mentioned our efforts to cut off access and availability of these drugs but beyond that we have to work with all stakeholders including NYSC to ensure drastic reduction in the demand for drugs by our youths and one of our strategies to address this is through our drug integrity test, which we’re advocating that NYSC should embrace for corps members.”
“As I said, while we do the drug supply reduction, we also do drug demand reduction through preventive measures, as well as counseling and rehabilitation. Now, these are important areas for further collaboration. You have introduced in the camps, the war against drug abuse clubs, which is fantastic. One other important area of collaboration is the question of drug integrity tests for youth corps members.
“It’s a major drug demand reduction effort. In the same way we said, if you are getting married, both the bride and the groom, should bring a drug-free certificate. This is because it is always better to detect drug use early before it gets to addiction which eventually could get to psychiatric problems, and it becomes a danger to the user and society,” a statement made available to Naija News by the Director, Media & Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday 23rd April 2025, reads.
NYSC DG, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu
Marwa mentioned that another aspect of collaboration involves assigning a significant number of corps members who have studied Guidance and Counselling, Psychology, Nursing, and Psychiatry to NDLEA Counselling and Treatment Centres nationwide as their primary assignment during their one-year national service.
This initiative will allow the corps members to gain valuable knowledge and experience in rehabilitation and psychosocial services.
In his remarks, the NYSC Director General praised the drug integrity test as an excellent concept and committed to reviewing the NDLEA proposal for potential collaboration.
He assured that the scheme will establish a comprehensive guideline to assign as many corps members with the necessary qualifications to NDLEA Commands with Counselling and Treatment Centres throughout the country.
While expressing gratitude to Marwa for the significant achievements of NDLEA under his leadership, he acknowledged the existing partnership between the Agency and the NYSC, stating that his visit aimed to explore further opportunities to enhance and strengthen this collaboration.
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