By OKOSUN OKHUELEIGBE
After 10 years in the saddle, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade has handed over to the Director General of the Agency, Mrs Roli Bode-George.
The colourful parade at the Ikoyi headquarters, Lagos saw the lowering of NDLEA flag and presentation of a new flag to the Acting Chairman which was immediately hoisted signifying the beginning of a new era.
Speaking about his stewardship, Giade, “I am leaving the Agency better than I met it ten years ago. My greatest legacy is my zero tolerance for corruption. If we must continue to dislodge drug barons and eradicate drugs from our society we must remain forthright and committed to drug control programmes.
“I am leaving behind a legacy of proactive and intelligence-led organisation. The Agency under my watch has a representative at INTERPOL headquarters and has successfully raised the international profile of the country through unprecedented seizures of drugs and arrest of drug barons”.
“The removal of Nigeria from the majors list opened door to a robust cooperation and partnership with stakeholders. NDLEA has witnessed unprecedented training programmes for officers sponsored by United States government, Germany, Spain, France and the European Union,” Giade added.
The acting Chairman of the anti-narcotic Agency, Mrs Bode-George said that the Agency will continue to enforce the rules of engagement and uphold the tenets of integrity.
“NDLEA will continue to be proactive and operate as an intelligence-led agency. The Agency will apply modern techniques and diligently implement the National Drug Control Master Plan in collaboration with stakeholders” Roli stated.
It will be recalled that the NDLEA under Giade in 2011 discovered the first clandestine laboratory used for methamphetamine production. So far, a total of ten methamphetamine production centres have been discovered and shutdown in Lagos and Anambra States, while drugs weighing 55,830,837kg kilogrammes and arrested 72,253 suspected drug traffickers were seized between 2006 and 2014.
The Head, Public Affairs of the agency, Ofoyeju Mitchell gave the breakdown of suspected traffickers as 67,773 males and 4,480 females while the breakdown of drugs were put at 55,657,727.32kg of cannabis, 17,748.382kg of cocaine, 874.304kg of heroin and 153,831.6kg of psychotropic substances. The NDLEA also prosecuted 14,801 drug traffickers within the period and won 14,668 cases.