The Principal Staff Officer, Drugs Demand Reduction in the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Mr Ladan Hashim has revealed that about 72 young women and men have gone mad in the past three years over drug abuse in Zamfara state.
Mr Ladan, who spoke at a Radio Nigeria’s Pride FM programme ‘Ya Muka Kwana’ monitored in Gusau on Wednesday, said the consumption of drugs by youths including young women is at an alarming rate and something had to be done urgently to stop the menace.
He said in 2015 about 27 young men had become mad. Likewise in 2016 and 2017 45 young men including 5 ladies became mentally deranged over drugs abuse.
He then lamented how young ladies especially students of tertiary institutions are consuming cough syrups and how such ugly behavior is spilling over to matrimonial homes narrating the story of how a young lady taught her mother syrup taking.
According to him, the insane ones are being taken to psychiatric hospital Anka for treatment and further cautioned parents to monitor their children in order to detect as early as possible any sign of drug abuse so that the abusers would be counselled appropriately.
Hashim further explained that they have engaged religious leaders, traditional rulers and other youths groups in order to raise the awareness of the society adding that they have established drug clubs in 15 secondary schools in the state with the sole aim of enlightening the students to shun drugs.
