The Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) says drug abuse remains catalyst for cultism, sexual and gender-based violence, armed robbery and other violent behaviours.
The National Coordinator of POCACOV, CSP Ebere Amaraizu, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Enugu.
Amaraizu said that the linkage of substances/drug abuse to these crimes was identified through an evidence-based research conducted recently by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu POCACOV Resource Centre, Enugu.
According to him, substance and drug inhalation changes the abusers mood and make him or her to take some action which is not in tandem with the persons original conscience.
The national coordinator said: “It also makes the person to have wrong judgment of an issue and consequently pushes one into quick reactions and exhibitions of violence in the society.
“The negative effect of this in the society is that some young minds have come to see substance and drug abuse as a veritable means of attaining boldness, becoming strong and happy to do a particular thing.
“Most times this action and thing done might not be right in the real sense of it.
“Some young people are exploiting the instrumentality of drug abuse in the areas of cultism and other vices that have left some of them with mental injury with increase in cases of insanity and violent behaviours’’.
Amaraizu said that based on the recent research findings, POCACOV Resource Centre Enugu has developed a module/work-plan tailored to increase the level of advocacy, awareness creation, mentoring and re-orientation of youths.
“This work-plan will cut across activities of POCACOV Volunteer Clubs; POCACOV Fan Clubs for safer school and community; POCACOV-NYSC Community Development Service; POCACOV Traditional Rulers Consultative Forum and POCACOV Religious Leaders Consultative Forum amongst other’’.
He, however, urged Nigerians to join the police through POCACOV in its nationwide campaign against cultism, substance and drug abuse to save youths from claws of negative tendencies and for a peaceful and secured society.
It would be recalled that POCACOV, a community-driven initiative of the Nigeria Police, is linked to the I-G Adamu Crime Prevention/Crime Management Strategy.
