Stakeholders including hundreds of civil society groups, rights group and government agencies have raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s growing drug abuse crisis, particularly among young people, and are calling for urgent legal reforms to address what they describe as the failures of the country’s current punitive approach to drug control.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Nigeria Drug Law and Policy Reform Summit in Abuja, convened by the African Law Foundation (AFRILAW), stakeholders said that despite decades of legislation and enforcement, illicit drug trafficking and abuse remain widespread and are now taking a worrying toll on Nigeria’s youth.
Okereke Chinwike, the convener of the summit, founder of AFRILAW and coordinator of the Campaign Against Death Penalty for Drug Offences in Nigeria, said depsite the numerous laws, the menance of illicit drug trafficking and drug use in Nigeria today has not ended or reduced.
He said the time had come for a “bold, courageous, evidence-based and sustainable reform” of the country’s drug control laws and policies.
“The aim of this summit is to review and examine the implementation and impact of Nigeria’s drug laws, and to advocate for a public health and human rights-based approach to drug control,” Chinwike said, describing the current system as “militarised, punitive, repressive and draconian”.
He criticised Nigeria’s decades-long approach to drug control—stretching from the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance of 1935, the Indian Hemp Decree of 1966, through the infamous firing squad-era of the 1984 military decrees, to the current National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, as largely ineffective and in need of overhaul.
Nigeria, he said, has become a key transhipment point for narcotics between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and remains at the centre of West African drug trafficking networks. Yet, he noted that laws meant to tackle this crisis have only fuelled injustice without solving the core problem.
Referencing the 2019 National Drug Use Survey, Chinwike noted that 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15 to 64 use psychoactive substances for non-medical purposes. He stressed that the brunt of drug use falls on young adults, especially those aged between 25 and 39. The report further showed that about 376,000 are high-risk drug users, with around 80,000 injecting drugs.
“Drug use is a public health issue, not a crime. The stigma, harsh punishments and lack of treatment options are pushing users further into danger, rather than offering them a path to recovery,” he said.
Chinwike lauded the recent removal of the death penalty from the proposed amendment to the NDLEA Act and its replacement with life imprisonment. The change followed sustained advocacy led by AFRILAW and over 270 civil society organisations, who had written an open letter to the President and members of the National Assembly urging them to scrap capital punishment for drug offences.
However, he criticised the legislative process, saying it lacked transparency and failed to involve key stakeholders.
Chinwike also condemned the newly increased penalty for drug use—from five to 15 years imprisonment—in the amended NDLEA Bill. He called for its immediate reversal, arguing that drug use should be treated as a petty offence with community service as a more appropriate punishment.
The summit urged lawmakers to go beyond surface reforms and adopt a comprehensive approach modelled on the West Africa Model Drug Law, which prioritises harm reduction, human rights protections, and alternatives to incarceration.
The summit also urged the etablishment of a National Institute on Drugs Awareness and Rehabilitation to serve as a central agency for policy coordination and public education.
Also speaking at the summit, Tony Ojukwu, executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said Nigeria’s punitive drug laws have contributed to systemic human rights violations, particularly against vulnerable populations.
“They have created an environment ripe for extortion, physical abuse, and even sexual violence, particularly against women who use drugs,” he said.
While commending the National Assembly for removing the death penalty from the amended NDLEA Act, Ojukwu stressed that the reform momentum must be sustained. “This success is not the end of our journey; it is a powerful catalyst,” he said.
He called for full implementation of Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan (2021–2025), which advocates a comprehensive and balanced approach to drug policy.
