The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned night club operators and fun seekers about the creeping culture of organising, hosting and attending drug parties.
The agency said that it was a disturbing fad within social circles, which was a blatant illegality under the Nigerian law.
A statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi yesterday in Abuja, said that the warning came on the heels of a raid carried out by its operatives at a drug party.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the party was held on the night of Saturday, Oct. 25 into the early hours of Sunday at Proxy Night Club located at 7 Akin Adesola street, Victoria Island Lagos.
NAN reports that over 100 attendees were arrested along with the owner of the facility, and his manager.
According to Babafemi, any gathering organised for the purpose of consuming, distributing, or abusing illicit substances is an act of criminality.
“These ‘drug parties’ contravene the explicit provisions of the NDLEA Act and will be treated as serious narcotic offences. In the case of the drug party at Proxy night club, organisers went above board and had the audacity to produce and circulate flyers inviting fun seekers to come together to commit crime.
“This is an act that not only constitutes an incitement to commit crime but equally an affront to the law enforcement capabilities of the country if condoned,” he said.
Babafemi said that Nigeria was currently grappling with a very high prevalence rate of drug abuse, particularly among the youths.
He said that those illicit drug parties do not only fuel the drug scourge but equally serve as hubs for new recruitment into drug addiction.
This, he said, actively undermined the current national efforts to safeguard public health and security.
According to him, in the recent case, the NDLEA was meticulous and professional throughout the processes leading to the raid and during the operation.
The NDLEA spokesman emphasised that the two principal suspects remained in custody.
