The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has reiterated his administration’s resolve to eradicate all forms of drug abuse and criminality in the state.
Governor Otti disclosed this while declaring open, the one-day sensitisation campaign against cultism and drug addiction in Nigeria organised by the Abia State Orientation Agency (ABSOA) in Umuahia.
The governor who condemned the alarming trend of crime among youths under the grip of illicit substances, emphasised that no level of substance abuse could justify criminal actions.
He noted that his administration is single-minded about rooting out crime and criminality to ensure that Abia remains safe for citizens and visitors alike.
“Armed robbery, kidnapping, abductions, violent crimes, and banditry have been related and associated very closely with cultism and drug addiction.
“Today, a lot of our young ones have involved themselves in consuming illicit substances that make them behave abnormally.
“No amount of alcoholism, drug addiction, or whatever it is that you have consumed will justify any action that you have taken that is against the law.
“And for us, we are single-minded about rooting out crime and criminality to ensure that our state is safe for our citizens and our visitors”, Otti said.
Otti said he’s baffled that after the use of these substances, mostly the “mkpuru mmiri” better known as “Crystal meth” and technically called “methamphetamine hydrochloride”, the victim is still able to identify expensive items during stealing.
Otti also described the sensitization campaign by the State Orientation Agency (ASOA/ABSOA) as imperative, and pointed out that there is a need to educate citizens on the implication of cultism and drug addiction.
He said, “I believe this sensitization campaign is absolutely in order. We want to educate you and expose you to implications of some of these actions that lead to other actions that would lead us to a reaction that you may not like”
The Abia governor urged participants of the programme to take the campaign seriously in order to help spread awareness of the dangers associated with cultism and drug addiction.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, represented by the Abia State Deputy Commissioner of Police (DSP), Sani Shuaibu said, “This sensitization campaign against cultism and drug addiction (abuse) is timely and highly imperative, because our youths have falling victims which has endangered their future
“Haven’t understood their future, this two elements — drug addiction and cultism, complement each other to make our children vulnerable to lots of influences as a result of their mental, psychological and physical disposition and as such they’re easily lured into negative activities.”
Otti’s Vows To Tackle Use Of Hard Drugs In Abia is first published on The Whistler Newspaper