The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said that the move by the Nigerian Senate to impose the death penalty for drug trafficking offenders will not yield the desired result.
Country Representative, UNODC, Oliver Stolpe, stated this at a two-day Media Personnel Training on Anti-Corruption, Police Accountability, Wildlife Crime and Sensitization on Drugs Prevention, Treatment and Care (DPTC), organised by the UNODC, NDLEA and other partners, yesterday in Abuja.
He said “The deterrent effect of the death penalty has never convincingly been proven. There is no proof of the effectiveness of the death penalty.
“Our stance as UN is clear on the death penalty; we are principally and categorically against it. And from a very practical viewpoint, I have to say, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
He pointed out that the UN has always advocated for a clear distinction between crimes of drug trafficking as opposed to the issue of drug use which it considers primarily to be a health issue, “and that should be dealt with as such. addiction is a health condition, it is not a choice.”
On the need for an updated drug database for Nigerians, Stolpe observed that the current national drug survey for
Nigeria was last done six years ago (2018) and therefore does not reflect the current situation for Nigeria.
“The drug use survey of 2018 remains as far as I can tell the most cited study in the media. This data is outdated and I think a very critical question that media could ask at that point is really well, how can we still refer to 2018 data to describe today’s levels of drug use?
Speaking on the importance of the anti-corruption, police accountability and sensitisation on illicit drugs training for media professionals, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba-Marwa (retd), said the media remains an indispensable partner in Nigeria’s drug war.
Represented by the Secretary NDLEA, Shadrach Haruna, he said, “For us in NDLEA, the media is a valued partner on whom we rely to foster a friendly ecosystem that aids anti-illicit drug abuse and trafficking in society.
“This is well-thought training for media professionals, given that the media is a crucial link between the public and law enforcement and a potent tool for the entrenchment of transparency and accountability in the law enforcement process.”
