AbdulRazaq rues Nigeria as drug trafficking transit hub

Chairperson, Nigeria Governors Spouses Forum and wife of Kwara State Governor, Prof. Olufolake AbdulRazaq, has said Nigeria serves as a transit hub for drug trafficking due to its location and extensive international connections.

Represented by the wife of the Niger State Governor, Fatima Bago, at a North Central National Women Sensitisation workshop organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, she said: “Research has found that one in five persons abusing drugs in Nigeria suffered from drug-related disorder, including mental illness.”

At the workshop organised in collaboration with Osjones International Services in Minna, Niger State, at Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi Conference Centre, Minna, she added that “drug influences criminal activities such as robbery, cult violence, prostitution and rape.”

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, represented by his deputy, Yakubu Garba, emphasised that only through united efforts would Nigeria effectively combat the societal ills and create a safer environment for all.

The governor acknowledged the exemplary leadership of the President’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, and her Renewed Hope Initiative, which is focused on combating insecurity, drug abuse, trafficking in persons and Violence Against Women and Children in Nigeria.

Bago maintained that his administration was fully committed to gender equality and affirmative action, noting that the workshop’s theme, which underscored the urgent need for collaboration and collective action by all stakeholders in tackling all social voices in the country, was apt.

Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Kafilat Ogbara, explained that the 10th House was working assiduously using the tools available to it to reduce social vices to the barest minimum, if not eliminated completely.

She urged the participants to actively participate and contribute their insights and expertise to the workshop that will lead to concrete solutions that will help a safer and secured society for all and sundry.