Plans are in top gear to amend some of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency laws that provide for the option of fines for drug offenders.

According to the agency, some of the laws as contained in the Act setting up the agency are obsolete and also make provision for the option of fines for offenders.

Its Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, disclosed this at the Institute of Change Management annual dinner with the topic’ Drug Abuse In Nigeria: Changing the Narrative’’ held in Lagos.

According to him, it is worrisome that some officers lose their lives in the course of battling with drug traffickers, but at the end of the day, some of the offenders when taken to court are just fined and they later return to the same business.

In his words, this is a worrisome trend that we are trying to correct in other to make the punishment stiffer.”

Marwa, said some of the drugs offenders after being charged to court are let off the hook and fined, saying some of the offenders come back to the society and continue in the act of drug use or business.

He said without mincing words, the drug problem of Nigeria is massive, adding that the National Drug Use Survey 2018 indicated that 14.3 million Nigerians representing 14.4 per cent of the population used psychoactive substances aside from alcohol.

On changing the country’s drug abuse narrative, Marwa said this requires that all hands must be on deck to ensure that we do things differently.

The NDLEA boss noted that while arrests and seizures are the highlights of its activities, it is however seeking a permanent and far-reaching change, especially change in society’s attitude towards drug use, abuse and trafficking.

‘‘It is to this end that we launched the War Against Drug Abuse(WADA) campaign which is meant to, in the long run, help prevent the entrenchment of drug abuse culture among young people in the society,” he explained.

He however urged the leadership and members of ICM as well as others to join the WADA team by spreading the message against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking; that should be part of the change ICM should henceforth preach.

The NDLEA chief spoke through the Director, Seaport Operation, Omolade Faboyede.

Institute of Change Management Chairman and President, Nathaniel Osewele, said the choice of the topic was informed by the need to further deepen the discourse on the increasing wave of misuse and abuse of hard drugs in society, especially among the youths.