The Word Federation Against Drugs (WFAD), Stockholm, Sweden, General Secretary, Linda Nilsson has said that WFAD is against death penalty for drug related offences, but big countries are using their power to make it difficult to get the resolution against death penalty to scale through in the United Nations (UN).

Speaking in Lagos during the 1st West African Forum On Dugs (WAFOD) themed: Mainstreaming Health and Child-Right Concerns in Substance Abuse Policy, Planning and Programming in West Africa,” organised by People Against Drug Dependence and Ignorance (PADDI Foundation) with the support of WAFD, Nilsson said that every tribe should be open and fair to people with drug related offences.

“Death penalty should be out of it. The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) all agree, that countries should try to put an end to death penalty. We always put in strong recommendations for those countries to stop death penalty.”

She said that one of the ways out of death penalty is to galvanize public opinions against death penalty in those countries practicing it.
“Instead of death penalty they could sentence those found guilty to prisons which is much better than killing them in my own opinion.”

She said that CSOs should do their own part and the government should play their own roles against drug.

“We need a holistic balance approach. One person can’t do everything. We need to cooperate. Cooperation is the best way to move forward. Educating teachers and the youths and parents to put an end to drug abuse.”

Director Drugs Demand Reduction Department of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Baba Hussaini said that the CSOs should not wait for the government to do everything for them.

“People should support the effort of the government without necessarily asking for financial support from them,” he said

An Assistant Comptroller of Nigerian Immigration Service, Mannir Yari who represented the Comptroller of Immigration, Lagos State Command said that there is the need for more sensitising and advocacy on drug abuse.

“There is the need to sensitise the youths. If we can catch them young like many of the speakers had spoken. We can prevent drug abuse in Nigeria.”

Professor of Radiology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ifeoma Okoye said that death penalty ought not to have been meted out to the vulrerable and innocent ones that drug barons usually take advantage of. “Sometimes they don’t know they are carrying drugs. Atimes they made them to swallow it. Addict should be treated as those who have diseases.”