The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd.) on Wednesday, February 9, requested that the management of tertiary institutions in the country make drug integrity tests a compulsory policy for students in order to curb the rising cases of drug abuse amongst youths.

Marwa made the call during the launching of an anti-drug abuse initiative campaign tagged ‘Drug-free University Campaign’ at the University of Abuja, saying as part of the NDLEA effort to curtail drug abuse, it is proposing a partnership with all the tertiary institutions in the country to carry out drug integrity tests on both new and returning students.

The DG clarified that the drug test wasn't a punitive measure on students but an early detection tool to know the status of an individual’s drug use in order to apply appropriate intervention, timely treatment, and care. He further stated that he was hopeful that the University of Abuja would be its first partner to adopt the policy while others follow suit.

He explained that to achieve this, the university would have to create an NDLEA outpost on the campus where NDLEA operatives will be deployed to assist the university's authorities to scare off drug dealers and users within the university.