The House of Representatives on Wednesday unveiled plans to probe the activities of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over the past ten years.
The agency, according to the House, seized drugs, assets and properties of drug offenders worth over N35 billion.
To this end, the House mandated its joint Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes as well as Finance, to investigate alleged misappropriated funds approved for the agency that led to stagnation of its employees from year 2000 to date.
The resolution was passed following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Muhammad Soba (APC-Kaduna), who expressed dismay over allegations of wrongdoing levelled against the agency, including connivance with drug cartels, leading to release of hundreds of drug suspects.
The joint committee is also expected to ascertain why hard drug trade subsists despite huge penalties imposed on drug peddlers in the country.
Debating the motion, Soba noted that the NDLEA was established in 1989 to eradicate the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of hard drugs and to investigate persons suspected to have dealings in drugs.
The lawmaker however alleged that the agency since inception, particularly in the past ten years, has not given adequate account of seized drugs, assets and properties of drug offenders valued at about N35 billion.
While calling for an investigation over these allegations, Soba also informed the House that the agency is about to dispose off the hard drugs and auction some of the seized and forfeited assets of these drugs offenders in the next few days, contrary to established legal procedures.
Speaking in support of the motion, Zakari Mohammed (APC-Kwara) posited that there are no measures put in place by the agency to detect illicit drugs and track the seizures.
On his part, Adamu Kamale (APC-Adamawa) who described the harm of drug abuse in the Nigerian society as pervasive, alleged that most NDLEA officials are abetting illicit drug peddlers adding that such actions had weakened operations of the agency.
The motion was unanimously adopted through a very overwhelming voice vote when the Speaker Yakubu Dogara put the matter to vote and subsequently referred to the relevant House Committess for further actions.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA
