By Gilbert Joseph

Jos – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raised concern over a disturbing rise in drug abuse among the youths including young women in Plateau State, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to families, education and the future of the State.

Assistant Commander of Narcotics, Ku’ulyidam Hassan, who heads the Drug Demand Reduction Unit in the State, sounded the alarm during a public awareness campaign organised by the Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse (YIAVHA).

“We have more females going into drugs now than we had 10 years ago,” Hassan disclosed. “Quite a number of our youths indulge in drug abuse. The future is bleak for the State if this trend continues.”

According to her, a combination of poor parental supervision, negative peer influence and unfettered access to the internet is fuelling the growing involvement of young people in substance abuse.

She noted that many young people are left to fend for themselves, making them vulnerable to harmful influences and risky behaviour.

The awareness campaign, implemented under the Building Bridges for Peace II: From Insight to Action Project with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the SPRING Programme, targeted schools, mining sites and marketplaces identified as high-risk environments for drug circulation.

At a mining site at Kuru Baba, the Tuesday market at Makera, Riyom, and the Government Secondary School, Riyom, a school attended by many students from displaced communities, the stakeholders emphasised the dangers of using drugs as a coping mechanism for trauma and hardship.

Hassan stressed that the NDLEA’s approach focuses on both prevention and rehabilitation. “Those who have not started, we catch them young to stay off drugs. Those who have started, we give them hope to say no,” she said.

Providing background to the initiative, Judith Remson of YIAVHA explained that drug abuse prevention is a critical component of the broader peacebuilding project.

“This component aims to raise awareness in places where people are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse, such as
marketplaces, mining sites and schools. These are environments where there is a high likelihood of drug circulation and where many young people can easily be influenced,” she said.

Also speaking, an Assistant Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nuhu Chuwang, described drug abuse as a growing social crisis with far-reaching implications.

He warned that beyond damaging health, substance abuse contributes to declining academic performance, school dropouts and social instability. In some mining communities, he added, illicit drugs are sold openly, further exposing young people to danger.

Stakeholders including the School Principal, Peter Danladi, agreed that tackling the rising involvement of young people in drug abuse requires stronger parenting, sustained public enlightenment and collaborative community action.