Persons undergoing rehabilitation
| credits: Afeez Hanafi
A
zonal pastor of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mr. Victor Edo, said
he had to donate his blood in exchange for money to satisfy his urge for
heroin, cocaine and some other hard drugs.
Victor said this on Tuesday, during a
visit to Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry in the Araga, Epe area of
Lagos by officials of the National Drug Enforcement Agency.
The pastor, an alumnus of the CADAM,
told our correspondent that his 13-year journey as a drug peddler and
addict started in 1985 in Lagos when he started selling drugs.
He said, “ At a point, I started taking
them. I was the kingpin of Ikeja Cocaine Triangle that media were
writing about sometime in 1987. NDLEA eventually arrested me.
“I sold my blood just to satisfy my
urge. My father and my relatives rejected me, but eventually I came to
CADAM in 1998. Today I am an ordained pastor.”
A woman in the rehabilitation centre, Steven Ufom , told PUNCH Metro that the demise of her husband turned her to a drinker.
“I drank alcohol for nine years.
Initially, I was taking it to relieve myself of pains and sorrows caused
by the death of my husband because there was nobody to assist me in
taking care of my three children. I took different kinds of alcohol to
the point of stupor. I was all alone. My parents had died; my sons
disowned me and ran away from me because of the disgrace I caused them.
“No matter how dejected you are, don’t make drugs and alcohol your last resort. One can easily get addicted,” Ufom said.
Another pastor, Olohunleke Mabinuori,
said he was so addicted to drugs that he packed some heroine in his boot
when his father took him to London in 1981 in an attempt to stop him
from taking had drugs which he started when he was in primary six.
Mobinuori added that he left London when he exhausted the heroine.
A 53-year-old nurse, who joined the
centre three months ago, said she cooked cocaine and injected it into
her body for 31 years. She also said she mixed it with heroine whenever
she wanted to smoke, claiming that it was her fiancé that led her into
the act.
The Pubic Relations Officer of NDLEA,
Mr. Mitchel Ofoyeju, appreciated the coordinator of the centre for
assisting the agency in the campaign against drug abuse and promised to
continually support it.
When asked what the agency was doing
about some of its officials who collected dues from drug barons, the PRO
said there was a time a commander in Kano was dismissed when found
guilty of such allegation.
While expressing his appreciation to the
visitors, the coordinator, Dr. Dokun Adedeji, enjoined NDLEA to rise up
to the financial challenges facing the centre. He added that 1,500
people had been sensitised to abstain from drug abuse since the centre
was established.
PUNCH
Persons undergoing rehabilitation
| credits: Afeez Hanafi
| credits: Afeez Hanafi
A
zonal pastor of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mr. Victor Edo, said
he had to donate his blood in exchange for money to satisfy his urge for
heroin, cocaine and some other hard drugs.
Victor said this on Tuesday, during a
visit to Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry in the Araga, Epe area of
Lagos by officials of the National Drug Enforcement Agency.
The pastor, an alumnus of the CADAM,
told our correspondent that his 13-year journey as a drug peddler and
addict started in 1985 in Lagos when he started selling drugs.
He said, “ At a point, I started taking
them. I was the kingpin of Ikeja Cocaine Triangle that media were
writing about sometime in 1987. NDLEA eventually arrested me.
“I sold my blood just to satisfy my
urge. My father and my relatives rejected me, but eventually I came to
CADAM in 1998. Today I am an ordained pastor.”
A woman in the rehabilitation centre, Steven Ufom , told PUNCH Metro that the demise of her husband turned her to a drinker.
“I drank alcohol for nine years.
Initially, I was taking it to relieve myself of pains and sorrows caused
by the death of my husband because there was nobody to assist me in
taking care of my three children. I took different kinds of alcohol to
the point of stupor. I was all alone. My parents had died; my sons
disowned me and ran away from me because of the disgrace I caused them.
“No matter how dejected you are, don’t make drugs and alcohol your last resort. One can easily get addicted,” Ufom said.
Another pastor, Olohunleke Mabinuori,
said he was so addicted to drugs that he packed some heroine in his boot
when his father took him to London in 1981 in an attempt to stop him
from taking had drugs which he started when he was in primary six.
Mobinuori added that he left London when he exhausted the heroine.
A 53-year-old nurse, who joined the
centre three months ago, said she cooked cocaine and injected it into
her body for 31 years. She also said she mixed it with heroine whenever
she wanted to smoke, claiming that it was her fiancé that led her into
the act.
The Pubic Relations Officer of NDLEA,
Mr. Mitchel Ofoyeju, appreciated the coordinator of the centre for
assisting the agency in the campaign against drug abuse and promised to
continually support it.
When asked what the agency was doing
about some of its officials who collected dues from drug barons, the PRO
said there was a time a commander in Kano was dismissed when found
guilty of such allegation.
While expressing his appreciation to the
visitors, the coordinator, Dr. Dokun Adedeji, enjoined NDLEA to rise up
to the financial challenges facing the centre. He added that 1,500
people had been sensitised to abstain from drug abuse since the centre
was established.
PUNCH
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