The Imo government says it will effectively collaborate with the northern community in the state to curb the abuse of drugs and other substances.

The Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodinma on Narcotics and Illicit Drugs Monitoring, Ezechukwu Obonna, stated this on Saturday during a visit to the Sarkin Hausa of Imo, Auwal Baba-Sulaiman, in Owerri.

Mr Obonna thanked the northern community for “agreeing to a healthy collaboration” and expressed the confidence that the community’s leadership would provide the necessary support to enable the government to address the menace.

He said that available statistics indicate that most of those engaging in crime do so under the influence of drugs.

According to him, the fight against drug abuse is part of a broader effort by the Uzodinma-led government to tackle insecurity through a preventive approach.

“We warn all illicit drug peddlers and consumers in Ama Hausa (Hausa community) and all other parts of the state to desist forthwith or get ready to face the law.

“This effort is a preventive measure against crime and insecurity, and having got the nod of the leadership of this community, we have no doubt that we will achieve our aim,” Mr Obonna said.

Speaking, Mr Baba-Sulaiman said the community, under his watch, would firmly support all healthy initiatives of the state government, including the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.

He, therefore, directed his palace officials to ensure that the warning was passed to all the settlements of the northern community in Imo.

Similarly, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Northern Affairs, Sulaiman Ibrahim, stated that the community would deploy its local vigilance group, youths, and all available legal mechanisms to collaborate with the state government in combating drug abuse.

The secretary of the Northern Community Youths, Munkailu Sadiq, described the collaboration as “healthy.”

Mr Sadiq expressed the belief that it would “definitely reduce the scourge of drug abuse to the barest minimum.”

(NAN)