Marwa Seeks Compulsory Drug Test For NYSC Members

Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has called for compulsory drug test for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

He said youth corps members need to undergo the test as they report for their mandatory one-year national service at the various orientation camps across the country as part of drug demand reduction efforts of the anti-narcotic agency.

The NDLEA boss said this when he hosted the Director General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Fadah, who led his management team on a visit to the NDLEA headquarters yesterday in Abuja.

Marwa, who painted a picture of Nigeria’s drug problem with facts and figures from the 2018 national drug survey, called for collective efforts to change the narrative.

He said: “There is the need for drug test for our youth corps members as they report at the orientation camps. Once they know there’ll be drug test at the camps, they will abstain from it. The whole essence is to ensure help gets to those who test positive early. This is part of our War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.

“Nigeria has a drug issue. We’re determined to ensure this is changed, but we can’t do it alone. We need organisations, like the NYSC, to reduce and control demand for drugs.”