Nigeria faces deepening drug abuse crisis as experts link surge to economic hardship

Health experts, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies are raising alarm over what they describe as a rapidly worsening drug and substance abuse crisis across Nigeria, warning that the situation has reached “critical” levels requiring urgent national intervention.

The warning comes amid growing evidence from public health data and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicating that Nigeria’s substance abuse problem is being intensified by economic hardship, rising inflation, and increasing unemployment, particularly among young people. Analysts say these pressures are pushing many vulnerable citizens toward illicit drugs and the misuse of pharmaceutical opioids as a coping mechanism for financial and psychological distress.

Nigeria, long identified as a transit corridor for international drug trafficking, is increasingly becoming a major consumer market in its own right. Public health estimates suggest that more than 14.4 million Nigerians engage in non-medical drug use, placing the country among those with the highest prevalence rates in West Africa.

Health professionals report that substance abuse is now widespread across both rural communities and major cities, including Lagos, Kano, and Port Harcourt. Pharmacies and hospitals have also documented a sharp rise in demand for controlled medications such as tramadol, codeine-based cough syrups, sedatives, and other prescription opioids, despite regulatory efforts to restrict access.

A clinical psychologist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Abeokuta, Dr. Olanrewaju Sodeinde, said hospitals are already feeling the strain. “Hospital admissions related to drug use are on the rise. More than 80 percent of patient admissions at our facility are directly linked to substance abuse complications,” he said.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified operations targeting drug trafficking networks, including seizures and destruction of large quantities of illicit substances across the country. However, officials acknowledge that enforcement alone is no longer sufficient to address the evolving nature of the crisis.

Security and public health experts point to several emerging trends complicating the fight against drug abuse, including the spread of synthetic psychoactive substances, increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks operating through encrypted digital platforms, and a rise in poly-drug use, where multiple substances are consumed simultaneously, significantly increasing overdose risks.

Cannabis remains widely available through domestic cultivation networks, while pharmaceutical opioids are often diverted from legitimate supply chains or imported illegally. Synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and new psychoactive substances are also gaining ground, particularly in urban nightlife economies and among at-risk youth populations.

In response to the deepening crisis, the Federal Government, in collaboration with international partners such as the European Union and ECOWAS, has begun implementing the National Drug Control Master Plan aimed at strengthening both prevention and enforcement strategies.

The framework is designed to move beyond punitive approaches and incorporate broader social interventions, including expanded rehabilitation services, increased access to mental health care, and youth-focused employment initiatives aimed at reducing vulnerability to drug dependence.

Public health advocates argue that without a significant expansion of treatment infrastructure and community-based prevention programmes, Nigeria risks further escalation of addiction rates, with potential long-term consequences for national productivity, public safety, and social stability.

Experts continue to call for a coordinated, multi-sectoral response that addresses both supply reduction and the underlying socio-economic drivers of drug dependence.