Monday,
October 21, 2024 -The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA,
says the recent attack on its image by Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru (Kwara
South) was borne out of vendetta rather than based on any altruistic motive or
national interest.
While contributing to the debate on a ‘Bill for an Act to establish
National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation on October 15, Ashiru
declared that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, is the most
corrupt and compromised government agency in Nigeria. According to him, the
NDLEA has failed in its mandate woefully thereby giving credence to creation of
another drug related agency.
The failure of NDLEA, he insisted, has resulted in the high rate
of drug trafficking going on in the country.
Reacting to his comment, the NDLEA at a press briefing this morning said
it is duty-bound to respond to the unprovoked attack against it by Senator
Ashiru. The Agency said it waited for a whole week hoping the lawmaker will
clarify his position on such a weighty allegation against it but failing to do
that, it is left with “no option than to come out and set the record straight
for the benefit of other distinguished members of the Senate, our local and
international partners as well as the general public.”
According to the text of the press briefing read by the Agency’s
Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi
“There is no doubt that setting up another agency is within the power of
the Senate and if we are invited to contribute to the debate we will be willing
to offer our opinion. While we cannot fault the power of the senate on that,
yet for a member of the upper chamber to have made such an unfounded and
unwarranted categorical statement against the Agency led us to look inward to
see what could have been responsible for such a carpeting general statement.
What we found was shocking, and we concluded that his statement came from a
place of vendetta and certainly not out of public interest or any altruistic
motive.
The personal house of the senator in GRA Ilorin, the capital of Kwara
State, had been raided in recent past, where drugs and illicit substances were
recovered while two of his aides: Ibrahim Mohammed and Muhammed Yahaya were
arrested. Based on credible intelligence and surveillance which confirmed that
the senator’s house was being used as a drug joint for drug dealers and users,
the house was raided by our operatives at 1:30pm on February 4, 2024 during
which the two aides were arrested, while a third suspect escaped arrest.
In another encounter with the senator, the Agency also received
intelligence that some of his boys popularly known as “Omo Senator” operating
from his home town, Offa, were equally dealing in illicit drugs. A raid was
subsequently carried out on their joint in Offa where one of them, Oluwatosin
Odepidan was arrested and illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis
recovered from him on June 11, 2023. The bid to get the Agency drop the case
against Odepidan including a visit to the Kwara State Command headquarters of
the Agency in Ilorin by the Personal Assistant to the senator, one Omoluabi,
was rebuffed as Odepidan was promptly charged to court and prosecuted. Though
the culprit jumped court bail in 2023, he was rearrested in 2024 after the
court issued a bench warrant for his arrest. He was eventually convicted and
sentenced in June 2024.
So, going by this backstory, it is deductible that these encounters that
the Agency has had with the senator, must have been responsible for his
outburst, and unfortunately, false allegation, the type that nobody within and
outside of government has ever levelled against NDLEA before.”
The Agency said despite the impression Senator Ashiru was trying to
create about its image, the NDLEA has continued to receive accolades from local
and international bodies for its successes in the fight against substance abuse
and illicit drug trafficking.
“Incidentally, the next day after Senator Ashiru made the statement,
NDLEA in Lagos commissioned a new Marine Command Headquarters building donated
by the Government of the UK. A similar facility at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport was donated last year by the same British government. We
have had other facilities donated by United States INL and executed by UNODC in
the past 12 months. We have been receiving various support from the governments
of France, Germany and the US, among others.
Suffice it to say that in the past three years, NDLEA has emerged as a
regional leader among national drug law enforcement agencies. So, come to think
about it, an agency so badmouthed by Senator Ashiru couldn't have been
attracting such international goodwill and commendation for being the
"most corrupt government agency" in Nigeria.
Against the background of our encounter with people linked to him, we
are wont to believe that Senator Ashiru’s invectives against NDLEA were borne
out of vendetta and not any opinion made in the public interest.
As an agency, we have been professional in our activities and
interactions with citizens as we carry out arrests daily. In the past three
years, we have made over 52, 000 arrests and got more than 9, 000 convictions,
including three life sentences this year. And, as part of our mandate, we have
engaged in over 7,000 awareness and sensitisation activities in schools,
workplaces, worship centres and communities; treatment and rehabilitation of
more than 33,000 drug users including the last two persons arrested in the
senator’s house; supported by governments, organisations and other stakeholders
in the country and around the world.
Outside this country, NDLEA has become a reference for drug law
enforcement. Therefore, the statement by Senator Ashiru, made in the country’s
hallowed chamber in the course of a legislative debate, and made to justify the
creation of another agency is motivated by malice; it is a gross
misrepresentation of fact; and it is defamatory to the image of NDLEA. We
believe the well-meaning public; our stakeholders and our partners can see
through such calculated mendacity.”
The NDLEA vowed it will remain undeterred by Senator Ashiru’s attack but
will be relentless in ongoing effort to dismantle all illicit drug networks
across the country including the one operating in the lawmaker’s house.
“So, if Senator Ashiru has a personal grudge against NDLEA, it shouldn't
be cloaked as a matter of public concern. His statement of October 15, 2024,
uttered in the hallowed chamber of the Nigerian Senate, is a gross abuse of his
position as a legislator of the Federal Republic to undermine an agency of
government by wrong accusation calculated to erode public confidence in NDLEA
and detract from its integrity. And we dare say that such will not deter us
from our ongoing effort to dismantle all illicit drug networks including the
one operating from the senator’s residence.
NDLEA since January 2021 has been on a journey of reforms, and so far,
we are glad with the progress we are making. We are grateful to the federal and
state governments for the support we have been enjoying. We are equally
grateful to the National Assembly for the huge support they give that has made
possible the turnaround of NDLEA from a dormant agency to a vibrant government
organ. We equally acknowledge the unprecedented collaboration with our
partners, which has made our work easier. We have concrete results to show for
our efforts, and those results cannot be wished away by anyone’s careless
remarks.”
0 Comments