The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has it back at Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru who represents Kwara South at the National Assembly over his recent criticism of the agency as very corrupt, saying his outburst was a vendetta.
During a press briefing at its headquarters on Monday to respond to a disparaging statement made by Senator Ashiru that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency is corrupt and compromise, among other untoward allegations, the agency said the lawmaker’s allegations were not borne out of national interest.
NDLEA said; “The NDLEA is compelled to call this press briefing today because of an unfortunate development earlier last week during plenary in the Nigerian Senate when some uncomplimentary, unfounded, defamatory remarks were made against the agency.”
While acknowledging the great work of the Senate towards the upliftment of Nigeria and Nigerians especially their support for the ongoing concerted efforts towards the amendment of the NDLEA Act, the agency, however, said it was duty-bound to respond to the unprovoked attack against it by Senator Ashiru during his contribution to the debate on a new bill for an Act to establish the National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
The agency said it waited for a whole week, hoping the lawmaker would clarify his position on such a weighty allegation against it but failing to do that, it is left with “no option than to come out and set the record straight for the benefit of other distinguished members of the Senate, our local and international partners as well as the general public.”
According to the text of the press briefing read by the agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, “There is no doubt that setting up another agency is within the power of the Senate and if we are invited to contribute to the debate, we will be willing to offer our opinion.
“While we cannot fault the power of the senate on that, for a member of the upper chamber to have made such an unfounded and unwarranted categorical statement against the agency led us to look inward to see what could have been responsible for such a carpeting general statement.
“What we found was shocking, and we concluded that his statement came from a place of vendetta and certainly not out of public interest or any altruistic motive.
“The personal house of the senator in GRA Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, had been raided in recent past, where drugs and illicit substances were recovered while two of his aides – Ibrahim Mohammed and Muhammed Yahaya – were arrested.
“Based on credible intelligence and surveillance which confirmed that the senator’s house was being used as a drug joint for drug dealers and users, the house was raided by our operatives at 1:30pm on February 4, 2024 during which the two aides were arrested, while a third suspect escaped arrest.
“In another encounter with the senator, the agency also received intelligence that some of his boys popularly known as “Omo Senator” operating from his home town, Offa, were equally dealing in illicit drugs. A raid was subsequently carried out on their joint in Offa where one of them, Oluwatosin Odepidan, was arrested and illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis recovered from him on June 11, 2023. The bid to get the agency drop the case against Odepidan including a visit to the Kwara State Command headquarters of the agency by the personal assistant to the senator, one Omoluabi, was rebuffed as Odepidan was promptly charged to court and prosecuted. Though the culprit jumped bail in 2023, he was rearrested in 2024 after the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest. He was eventually convicted and sentenced in June 2024.
“So, going by this backstory, it is deductible that these encounters that the agency has had with the senator, must have been responsible for his outburst, and unfortunately, false allegation, the type that nobody within and outside of government has ever levelled against NDLEA before.”
The agency said despite the impression Senator Ashiru was trying to create about its image, the NDLEA has continued to receive accolades from local and international bodies for its successes in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
“Incidentally, the next day after Senator Ashiru made the statement, NDLEA in Lagos commissioned a new Marine Command Headquarters building donated by the Government of the UK. A similar facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport was donated last year by the same British Government. We have had other facilities donated by United States and executed by UNODC in the past 12 months. We have been receiving various supports from the governments of France, Germany and the US, among others.
“Suffice to say that in the past three years, NDLEA has emerged as a regional leader among national drug law enforcement agencies. So, come to think about it, an agency so badmouthed by Senator Ashiru couldn’t have been attracting such international goodwill and commendation for being the “most corrupt government agency” in Nigeria.
“Against the background of our encounter with people linked to him, we want to believe that Senator Ashiru’s invectives against NDLEA were borne out of vendetta and not any opinion made in the public interest.
“As an agency, we have been professional in our activities and interactions with citizens as we carry out arrests daily. In the past three years, we have made over 52, 000 arrests and got more than 9, 000 convictions, including three life sentences this year. And, as part of our mandates, we have engaged in over 7,000 awareness and sensitisation activities in schools, workplaces, worship centres and communities; treatment and rehabilitation of more than 33,000 drug users, including the last two persons arrested in the senator’s house; supported by governments, organisations and other stakeholders in the country and around the world.
“Outside this country, NDLEA has become a reference for drug law enforcement. Therefore, the statement by Senator Ashiru, made in the country’s hallowed chamber in the course of a legislative debate, and made to justify the creation of another agency is motivated by malice; it is a gross misrepresentation of facts and it is defamatory to the image of NDLEA. We believe the well-meaning public, our stakeholders and our partners can see through such calculated mendacity.”
