The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Buba Marwa, has designated the two year-old, Ivan Omorhiakogbe, who was killed by a stray bullet during an NDLEA operation at Okpanam, a twin city with Asaba, as a hero in the war against drug abuse in the country.
General Marwa made the declaration at Ubulu-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area during a public destruction of illicit drugs by the Delta State Command of the NDLEA.
Over N1 billion worth of hard drugs were set ablaze at the event.
Marwa also dedicated the public destruction of the seized items to the minor who paid the supreme price in the struggle towards making Delta State safe through drug control activities.
The NDLEA Chairman, represented by Acting Comptroller General of Narcotics, Fidel Cocodia, noted that the destruction exercise represented the successes recorded in the effort to combat drug menace as well as reflected the alarming rate of drug trafficking and prevalence of drug abuse in the country.
“The destruction exercise is literally the final stage of the drug war and supply control effort. It is dedicated to his memory,” he said.
The Delta State Commander of the NDLEA, John Tunde, who gave a breakdown of the drugs earmarked for destruction, said the state ranked high in drug abuse and illicit trafficking statistics in the South-South region, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The drugs for destruction included 5.614 tons of cannabis sativa, 416.77 grams of cocaine, 105.12 grams of methamphetamin, 98.2 grams of heroin, among others.
Deputy Director, Prosecution and Legal in the agency, Bridget Viashiamah, observed the exercise was in compliance with the orders of the Federal High Court mandating the agency to publicly destroy the illicit substances.
Highpoint of the event was the torching of the illicit drugs valued at over N1 billion by government functionaries, traditional rulers and heads of sister security agencies in the area.
