Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, has said young Nigerians will soon be required to obtain a drug-free certificate from the agency before getting married.
Marwa who made the disclosure on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti at a colloquium tagged: “Walk Away from Drugs’’, said that parents will be asked to list drug-free documents as part of requirements for approving their children’s marriage, Peoples Gazette reports.
According to him, the measure has become imperative, considering the worsening menace of drug use in the country.
“In Nigeria today, there is no challenge that is more worrisome than drug abuse.
“For instance, insurgency, kidnapping and banditry are seen as peculiar to certain parts of the country, but drug abuse has no boundary or respect for ethnicity or religion.
“The menace is so worrisome that within the last two months, more than N60 billion worth of illicit drugs have been seized and perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.
“If access to drugs is prevented, criminality can be reduced by 50 per cent,’’ Marwa said. He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to campaign against the use of illicit drugs,” Mr Marwa said.
He also called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to campaign against the use of illicit drugs.
