The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has said it is not comfortable with options of fines being accorded drug traffickers and their agents in the country.
The agency said it wants strict imprisonment that would deter others from the heinous crimes.
The anti-narcotics outfit explained that experience has shown that options of fines in place of outright imprisonment has not deterred drug traffickers, hence the rise in the abuse of illicit substances in the country.
Chairman of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd) who made this known on Tuesday in Abuja pleaded with the Chief Judge and judges of the Federal High Court to always consider strict imprisonment for drug offenders who do not deserve mercy of the law.
He spoke at the unveiling of National Minimum Standards on the Implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of the 36 states.
According to Marwa, Nigeria currently has over 10 million cannabis users, a development he described as very worrisome.
In the past five years, he said the agency made a seizure of about 15 million kilograms of assorted illicit substances out of which between 70 to 75 percent was cannabis.
The worrisome situation, he said, forced NDLEA under his personal intervention, to meet cannabis growers especially in Ondo State to enlighten them to stop growing Indian hemp and embrace legitimate growing of food and cash crops that would make life meaningful for them and others.
He noted with satisfaction that the efforts have been yielding fruitful results with positive response from the fields.
Marwa said that hundreds of farmers opting out of cannabis growing would not only have sustainable means of legitimate livelihoods but would no longer live with fears of possible arrest and prosecution by the NDLEA.
He thanked the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as well as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for quick responses to NDLEA issues.
In a welcome address at the occasion, the Director, Administration of Criminal Justice Reform and Development Development, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Leticia Ayoola Daniels, said the occasion represented the culmination of years of deliberate, intentional, collaborative and painstaking efforts to strengthen the Administration of Criminal Justice System in Nigeria through the institutionalization of Restorative Justice as a viable and effective complement to conventional justice processes.
The National Minimum Standards (2025), she said, established the operational benchmarks required to institutionalize Restorative Justice in Nigeria, ensuring that its implementation aligns with global best practices while remaining responsive to our local realities.
According to her, the Harmonized Restorative Justice Training Curriculum and Manual (2025), on the other hand, is designed to provide a comprehensive framework for training facilitators, ensuring consistency in practice, and promoting professionalism in the delivery of Restorative Justice processes across jurisdictions.
