Nigeria’s total number of reported drug seizures/arrests in 2019 increased by over 1000% to 621,035.46, compared to just 9,831 in 2018. This is according to the latest report on Drug Seizures and Arrest by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
2019 Drug Seizure & Arrest Report published @ https://t.co/QZi7zkqsrf pic.twitter.com/f5h9uPLWRH
— Dr Yemi Kale (@sgyemikale) August 27, 2020
The report showed that the highest numbers of cases were reported in the North Central region, standing at 517,711.69 as against just 1,311 in 2018.
The South West came in second place with just 44,744.13 in 2019, compared to 1,260 in 2018.
The South South recorded 28,885.85 in 2019 compared to 1,821 in 2018.
The South East recorded 13,234.48 in 2019 compared to 1,022 in 2018.
The North West recorded 11,968.50 in 2019 compared to 2,809 in 2018.
Also, the North East had the lowest record of drug cases at 4,490.81 compared to 1,608 on 2018.
Further breakdown of the report showed that men were nearly ten times more likely to be arrested for drug trafficking in 2019, with 8,571 by the State and Special Area Command compared to just 908 women.
The NBS report revealed that total number of narcotics drug seizures by the State and Special Area Command was 612,547.89kg compared to 163,684.44kg in 2018.
Total Number of prosecutions by the State and Special Area Command was 9,418 in 2019, which was less than the 2018 figure of 9,779. However, the convictions rate was just 1,120 in 2019 compared to 1,220 in 2018.
For counseling concluded in the 2018/2019 period, the number was just 397, compared to 440 in 2018.
In 2019, a study by the NBS and Center for Research and Information on Substance Abuse with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), revealed that 14.3 million Nigerians reported usage of psychoactive drug substances which stands at nearly 15% of the adult population, compared to the global average of 5.6%.