The Imo State Police Command, in partnership with the Stand For Humanity Foundation, has taken an awareness campaign against drug abuse, cultism and other social vices to the streets of Owerri, the state capital.
The campaigners, who converged at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, braved the rain as they marched through major parts of the city, chanting songs, distributing awareness materials and sensitising residents on the dangers associated with drug abuse and other forms of criminality.
The exercise was organised under the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), as part of efforts to strengthen public awareness and community participation in the fight against social vices across the state.
Speaking during the campaign, Founder of Stand For Humanity Foundation and child rights advocate, Chidiebube Okeoma, said the organisation decided to partner with the police after its investigation identified drug abuse as a major factor contributing to child abuse.
Okeoma stressed that sustained efforts to tackle child abuse in Imo State must also address the growing problem of substance abuse.
According to him, eliminating drug abuse would play a significant role in protecting children and reducing other social problems associated with substance misuse.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, CP Audu Garba Bosso, represented by the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Henry Okoye, described the awareness exercise as part of the Command’s non-kinetic approach to tackling drug abuse, sexual violence and other related crimes.
Okoye said the initiative also formed part of the Command’s community policing strategy, noting that collaboration with civil society organisations and other stakeholders was essential to achieving a safer and more crime-free Imo State.
He commended Stand For Humanity Foundation for partnering with the Police Command in taking the anti-drug and anti-crime message directly to residents.
The officer in charge of the Command’s Anti-Narcotics Unit, CSP Ifeanyi Ikokwu, disclosed that drug abuse was increasing in the state and reaffirmed the Police Command’s commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to curb the menace.
Also speaking, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Shell Camp Police Headquarters, Owerri, Juliana Obidinanwa, expressed concern over drug abuse among teenagers.
She urged parents and guardians to pay closer attention to the activities and associations of their children, noting that secondary school students were also increasingly being exposed to substance abuse.
The campaign also attracted the support of comic actor Osinachi Dike, popularly known as Apama; Professor of Law, Otitodiri Onyema; and human rights activist and broadcaster, Chinonso Uba, popularly known as Nonso Nkwa.
The trio urged the Stand For Humanity Foundation and the Police Command to extend the awareness campaign to communities in the hinterlands and sustain the initiative beyond the current exercise.
They expressed concern over the involvement of teenagers and secondary school students in drug abuse, warning that failure to address the problem early could have serious consequences for individuals, families and society.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodimma on Youth Affairs, Eric Uwakwe, said the Imo State Government supports programmes aimed at steering young people away from crime and other social vices.
Uwakwe assured that his office would continue to collaborate with Stand For Humanity Foundation, the Police and other stakeholders in initiatives aimed at promoting youth development, peace and security in the state.
The organisers said the campaign was aimed at encouraging residents, particularly young people, to reject drug abuse, cultism and other activities capable of undermining the peace and development of Imo State.
