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Communique
2000____________________________________________
2ND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON TACKLING THE PROBLEMS OF DRUG ABUSE.
THEME:
"LEGISLATING FOR A DRUG-FREE NIGERIA - TOWARDS REALIGNING
SUBSTANCE ABUSE LEGISLATIONS WITH DEMOCRATIC TENETS.
DATE:
8TH - 10TH OCTOBER 2000.
VENUE: BANQUET HALL, AGURA HOTEL, ABUJA,
NIGERIA.
COMMUNIQUE
The Conference
was organized by People Against Drug Dependence & Ignorance
(PADDI), Nigeria and Stichting PADDI Europa, The Netherlands,
with support from the Committees on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial
Crimes of the Senate of the Federal Republic and the Federal
House of Representatives. Additional media support was provided
by "The Voice" newsmagazine, The Netherlands.
The
Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics
and Financial Crimes, Senator I. S. Martyns-Yellowe, representing
the Chairman of the said Committee (Senator Shuaib Lawal)
delivered the Opening Address, setting a highly intellectual
and interactive pace that was matched with the quality presentations
of the three Resource Persons present, to wit:
a)
Mr. M. C. Azuike, a pharmacist and retired Director of Drugs
and Narcotics at the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration
and Control (N.A.F.D.A.C.) and presently a Consultant on Drug
Control Policies and Regulatory Affairs to several governmental
and international agencies;
b) Abba Mohammed, Esq., the Legal Adviser of the Federal Ministry
of Police Affairs and formerly a member of the Presidential
Task Force on Drugs and Financial Crimes; and
c) Dele Peters, Esq., a Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute
of Advanced Legal Studies.
The
Conference featured participants from, amongst others, N.A.F.D.A.C.,
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (N.D.L.E.A.), the
National Human Rights Commission, major media (print and electronic)
organizations, etc.
Following is a concise resolution of the presentations and
discussions at the Conference.
i.
Presently, major laws on Substance Abuse control were promulgated
during the tenure of despotic military regimes and along military
traditions, expectedly, principles of human rights, the rule
of law and supremacy of the constitution were not duly taken
into consideration prior to the enactment of such legislation’s.
ii. Victims of Substance Abuse deserve to be treated from
their dependence, rehabilitated from the causative factors
of substance abuse, and reintegrated into the society thereafter
as sane and potentially productive citizens AND NOT PLACED
ON THE SAME PEDESTAL as drug offenders (couriers and traffickers)
for purposes of punishment as presently contained in our anti-substance
abuse legislation.
iii. If the menace of drug abuse is left either unchecked
or improperly checked, it could undermine the political, economic
and socio-cultural fabric of our nation.
iv. The absence of comprehensive and periodic statistical
data on the drug abuse situation in Nigeria is deplorable.
Whilst commending the United Nations International Drug Control
Program (UNDCP. Nigeria Country Office) for facilitating the
first nationwide ‘Rapid Situation Assessment of Drug
Abuse in Nigeria’ (launched in June, 2000), relevant
funding agencies and governmental institutions are enjoined
to likewise facilitate or sponsor periodic assessment of the
substance abuse situation to allow for effective short-term
control measures and long-term policy formulation in drug
demand reduction.
v. There is the dire need to establish an autonomous national
agency (a National drug Abuse Prevention Agency – NDAPA),
to be responsible for policy formulation and program implementation
on drug abuse reduction in Nigeria. The present situation
where a plethora of federal institution and agencies formulate
and implement at-times divergent approaches and policies to
tackle the scourge of substance abuse, is not to the best
interest of the national desire to curb and eliminate drug
abuse from our society. The core-personnel for NDAPA will
be drawn from existing substance demand reduction units in
Federal agencies such as the National Agency for Food, Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Drug law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA), Ministries of Health, Youth etc.
vi. The NDLEA should concentrate its efforts and resources
on supply control efforts (investigations, interdiction, money-laundering
and allied matters) for which the NDLEA is better equipped.
Reference to the creation of a Counseling (Drug Demand Reduction)
Unit { as provided by Section 6(1)c of Decree No. 48 of 1989
} is contradictory and incoherent with the ‘law enforcement’
duties of the NDLEA.
vii. In view of the high death toll (over 110 Officers and
men as at June, 2000) suffered by the NDLEA in the course
of the NDLEA’s efforts at combating drug traffickers
and couriers, the Federal Government is urged to enhance and
strengthen the capacity of the NDLEA for effective Supply
control activities towards ensuring a drug-free Nigeria.
The
following legislations were specifically identified as deserving
of amendment to re-align such substance abuse legislations
with democratic tenets:
a.
Decree No. 33 of 1990. The present practice of re-incarcerating
Nigerian citizens who have been convicted outside Nigeria
for drug-related offences, upon the deportation/repatriation
of such Nigerians as prescribed by this Decree, not only negates
fundamentals of human rights (as it amounts to inflicting
double-jeopardy), but also directly contravenes express provisions
of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (Section 36{9}).
b. Decree No. 48 of 1989. This Decree is fraught with provisions,
which negate the principles of democratic governance. Matters
ranging from "placing the burden of proof on the accused
", to "creating a counseling unit where victims
of drug abuse could come for treatment whilst at the same
time classifying victims of drug abuse (the users) as criminals".
c. Decree No. 3 of 1995: The ‘money laundering Decree’.
As
an immediate consequence of this Conference, the Committee
on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes of The Senate of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria announced, in the course of
the Conference, its intention to hold a ‘Public Hearing’
on Re-aligning Substance Abuse Legislation’s with Democratic
Tenets, later in the year, by December, 2000.
PADDI
is also fine-tuning a ‘draft private sector bill’
on substance abuse reduction, encompassing the presentations
and discussion at this Conference, for presentation to the
National Assembly.
Conference
Organizing Committee.
PEOPLE
AGAINST DRUG DEPENDENCE & IGNORANCE (PADDI)
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