Written by
Ishioma Appiah-Yeboah
Concerns over the growing menace of drug abuse among young people have come to the fore following the arrest of two elderly men accused of supplying illicit substances to secondary school students in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora are currently in its custody for allegedly dealing in illegal drugs and targeting teenagers.
According to a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters Femi Babafemi, Obiora was arrested on June 19 after intelligence reports linked him to the sale of illicit substances to students and other residents.
During a search of his patent medicine store on Club Road, Umuahia, NDLEA operatives reportedly recovered 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In a separate incident, Orji, a pensioner, was allegedly caught by security guards at Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia while supplying drugs to two teenage students. He was subsequently handed over to the police before being transferred to the NDLEA for further investigation.
The agency says one of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two student, admitted that he received drugs from the suspect, consumed some of them, and sold others to fellow students.
While the two suspects are expected to face prosecution, the affected students have been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
The arrests have once again drawn attention to the dangers of drug abuse among young people and the role of communities in protecting children from harmful influences.
However, the NDLEA is urging parents, teachers, and community leaders to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities involving the sale or distribution of drugs to minors.