The Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse (YIAVHA) has taken the campaign against drug abuse to mining sites, schools and markets in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager, Miss Judith Ramson, said that the initiative was part of its ongoing public drug awareness campaign in the state.
She added that the move was also part of its project ‘Building bridges for peace II: from insights to action.’
Ramson explained that the project, supported by the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG), is funded by the U.K. Government.
“We are here to create public awareness on why people, particularly the youths should abstain from consuming illicit substances.
“During the implementation stage of the first phase of this project, one of the feedbacks we got was the rise in the consumption of illicit substances in communities.
“During our dialogue sessions, it was also observed that a lot of youths learned how to abuse drugs in the markets, mining sites, schools and few other places.
“Our aim is to drastically reduce, if not end, the rising cases of drug abuse and circulation among young people in Riyom and by extension Plateau in general,” she said
An Assistant Commander of Narcotics in the Plateau Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mrs Ku’ulyidam Hassan, thanked YIAVHA for the initiative.
Hassan, who decried the rise in substance abuse in the state, particularly in mining sites, described the move as a positive step towards tackling the menace.