Odita Sunday 
HURIWA Backs Mandatory Drug Tests in Schools, Demands Strict Confidentiality
By Odita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has strongly commended the Federal Government and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency over the introduction of mandatory drug tests for students in secondary and tertiary institutions across the country.
The group described the policy as a bold and revolutionary intervention aimed at tackling the growing menace of substance abuse among Nigerian youths.
HURIWA, however, urged the Federal Government to bear the financial burden of the tests and ensure that the outcomes remain strictly confidential to prevent discrimination, lawsuits and unnecessary stigmatisation of affected students.
The rights organisation argued that drug test results should enjoy the same legal confidentiality protections applicable to sensitive health information.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the group said the initiative represented one of the most proactive and far-reaching anti-drug policies introduced in recent years.
HURIWA urged students across the country to embrace the initiative, describing it as a genuine effort by government to guide young people away from destructive lifestyles and mould them into responsible citizens.
The organisation particularly praised the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, for what it described as visionary and result-oriented leadership in the war against narcotics trafficking and drug abuse.
According to the statement, the NDLEA under Marwa has demonstrated commitment, professionalism and innovation through aggressive sensitisation campaigns, arrests, prosecutions, rehabilitation programmes and strategic engagements with youth groups nationwide.
HURIWA noted that the anti-narcotics agency had also carried out extensive awareness campaigns targeting students, youth associations and members of the National Youth Service Corps on the dangers of substance abuse.
“The NDLEA has started a revolutionary solution to beat early drug habits amongst Nigerian youngsters, and the Federal Government has rightly adopted it as a national policy. This is a bold, timely and commendable intervention,” the group stated.
The civil rights group further argued that preventing drug addiction at an early stage remains one of the most effective strategies for reducing criminality, violence and insecurity linked to narcotics abuse.
HURIWA also commended the NDLEA for recording what it described as impressive operational successes under Marwa’s leadership, including high conviction rates against drug traffickers and barons across the country.
The organisation applauded the agency for confiscating illicit funds and securing the forfeiture of expensive landed properties and assets linked to drug cartels through judicial processes.
“These achievements clearly demonstrate that the NDLEA under General Marwa is working round the clock to make Nigeria drug-free and safer for future generations,” the statement added.
HURIWA argued that compulsory drug testing in schools would not only serve as a deterrent but also encourage early detection, counselling, rehabilitation and behavioural correction among affected students.
The group therefore called on the National Assembly to grant the NDLEA greater operational and funding autonomy to sustain its anti-drug strategies.
According to HURIWA, increased funding and institutional independence would strengthen the agency’s intelligence gathering capacity, rehabilitation programmes, enforcement operations and public enlightenment campaigns nationwide.
The organisation also called for more sensitisation to make the policy student-friendly and acceptable across schools and communities.
HURIWA urged parents, teachers, school administrators and religious leaders to support the anti-drug campaign and cooperate with the NDLEA in protecting Nigerian youths from the dangers of substance abuse.
The group maintained that the success of the campaign against narcotics abuse requires collective national responsibility and sustained political commitment.
It also pledged support for the NDLEA’s sensitisation campaigns, especially in rural schools across the South-East region.
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