An Internally Displaced Person at Dalori camp in Maiduguri on Tuesday said he took to drugs to erase the memory of the slaughter of his father, mother and four sisters by Boko Haram insurgents.
Narrating his ordeal to the News Agency of Nigeria, 30 year-old Abubakar Mala, from Gamboru-Ngala, in Borno State, said his parents and sisters were brutally killed during an attack on their town.
Mala said the insurgents had stormed the town, forcing himself and other residents to take to their heels.
He said when he returned days later after the insurgents had left; he found the remains of his parents and sisters in bad shape.
“I was not a drug addict before; I had a flourishing business in Gamboru, where I made good money to cater for my parents.
“Unfortunately, everything was taken away from me, including all my family.
“What do you expect me to be doing; how do you think I can forget these memories? To me, life means nothing.
“I need to forget the memory of the sad event, and that is only possible through taking drugs.
“I love to be like this (drug addict) because it makes me forget all the madness,” said Mala.
Meanwhile, the Borno State Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Ona Ogilegwu, on Tuesday warned that cases of drug addiction were on the increase in the state as a result of the insurgency.
He told NAN in Maiduguri that unless the ugly development was checked, there might be “a generation of drug addict after the Boko Haram insurgency.”
He lamented that the cases were more with internally displaced persons, especially those residing in camps.
Ogilegwu said that as part of efforts to tackle the menace, his command had begun aggressive enlightenment campaign in the state, with emphasis on the 28 IDP camps.
“We have made arrest of people in IDP camps for dealing in illicit substances, like cannabis sativa, diazepam, benelin with codeine and several other substances.
“Unless drastic measures are taken, there might be a generation of drug addicts after the Boko-Haram insurgency,” he warned
According to him, none of the 28 IDP camps in the state capital is free from the menace, adding that leaving the problem unchecked can spell doom for the society.
“We have continued to advise the state government to set up committee on drug abuse, comprising the NDLEA, military, SEMA, UNICEF, WHO, and Federal Neuro-Psychiatric, to handle this menace of drug activities in the camps.
“You will be shocked when you go to the Federal Neuro Pshychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri; there are thousands cases of mental disorder associated with drug abuse,” he said.
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