The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has reaffirmed that enforcement against drug abuse is impartial and strictly evidence-based, dismissing claims that arrests are influenced by an individual’s public image or media portrayal.
Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, made the remarks on February 14 during TVC’s TownSquare series themed, “War Against Drug Abuse: Taking control of today, protecting the future.”
According to Babafemi, arrests and prosecutions target verified criminal activity, not assumptions or depictions in music videos or social media content.
“Enforcement against drug abuse is not selective, we arrest people with exhibits. We have evidence to prosecute you. Someone like ID Cabasa is an artiste and he’s told us here that indeed he doesn’t consume drugs. That doesn’t mean in the video where he appears they don’t do it,” he said.
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He added that NDLEA closely monitors many musical artists but emphasises that possession and use of narcotics are criminal offences requiring substantial evidence before action is taken.
“Just this morning, we were able to track and bust somebody from the road and we were able to get into his apartment in Lekki, and we discovered that indeed synthetic Cannabis (Colorado) was being produced there,” Babafemi said.
He cited other recent enforcement actions, including the arrest of suspects with exhibits in a Lagos nightclub, highlighting that timely and concrete evidence is essential for prosecution.
“A situation where somebody has probably taken it and after one year you’re asking the agency to go and prosecute that person, it doesn’t work that way,” he added.
