Drug trafficking and penal policy in Nigeria

Abstract

For the past one decade the Nigerian government has been engaged in what might be described as a multi‐pronged attack on drug trafficking, a phenomenon which ranks second only to political crisis as the major social problems in the country. The government has employed many legal, social and economic strategies, none of which seems to have effectively attacked the roots of the problem. It is to be noted that drug trafficking was not regarded as a major problem in Nigeria until fairly recently. For example, in the 1950's drug peddling was restricted to a few Nigerians who had traveled abroad and returned, especially those who had taken part in World War II. At that time, marijuana, popularly known in Nigeria as ‘'igbo'’ (''grass'') was essentially the only drug which was involved. However, from the early 1980's to the present time, drug trafficking involving narcotics (cocaine, heroin, etc.) has been observed at alarming proportions. During this period, a whole new market that services the drug industry has sprung up with its arms spread around the world (Agbese, 1990). According to Agbese, it is a market involving supplies of raw materials and an effective distribution network for the finished product. Deeply entrenched in the new Market System are Nigerians whose involvement in the trade has attracted the attention of the international community. For a clearer understanding of the problem it is necessary to detail the extent to which Nigerians have become involved in drug trafficking in past years and to examine what steps the government has taken to address the problem.