The former Vice-Chancellor of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Professor Mohammed Nasirudeen Maiturare, has urged students of tertiary institutions to shun drug abuse and other social vices to become responsible future leaders.

He made the call at a one-day public lecture themed “Building Responsible Student Leadership: Combating Drug Abuse, Thuggery and Hate Speech and Campus Disunity Through Positive Values and Mentorship”, organised by the Students’ Wing of the Coalition of Northern Groups, Niger State chapter, in Minna.

Maiturare noted that such social ills grow quietly when values weaken, mentorship is absent, and leadership loses its moral compass. “When this happens, the ivory tower begins to crack from within,” he said.

He expressed concern that campuses nationwide are facing serious challenges that threaten the universal ideals of education.

“Drug abuse, violent conduct, intolerance in speech, and divisions among students do not appear overnight,” he added.

The National Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups, Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, stated that the lecture was designed to inspire reflection, strengthen moral courage, and rekindle responsibility, noting that campuses are not only centres of learning but also training grounds for future leaders.

The Niger State NDLEA Commander, Shehu Gwadawaba, represented by the Area Commander, Metropolitan Operation Station Minna, Hamisu Mohammed, cited a recent United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime study showing that global prevalence of drug use among students is 5.6%, while it is 14.5% in Nigeria and 10.4% in the North Central region.

Mohammed explained that the high prevalence of drug use on Nigerian campuses has been of great concern to the NDLEA, prompting a series of raids in universities. He further revealed that about 50% of university students, both on and off campus, are involved in drugs.

He added, “The Agency has been working in collaboration with student union bodies to implement primary measures to curb the drug menace ravaging students.”

Meanwhile, the NDLEA have arrested a wanted female kingpin described as a major distributor of illicit drugs in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The suspect, 65-year-old Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, was arrested in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4 kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, allegedly linked to her.

Confirming the development in a statement, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Ilori was arrested on Monday, December 29, 2025, alongside another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, at the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.

Babafemi also disclosed that the agency intercepted various quantities of illicit substances, including ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills, concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom.

The seizures, made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025, came as the agency took into custody 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, from which 31.5 kg of cocaine was seized at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos, on Friday, January 2, 2026.