Muhammad Babandede, the controller general of the Nigerian Immigration Service has declared that there is going to be a general drug test for all the officers of the Service to ascertain drug addicts among them.
The drug test, which he said will begin with him, will lead to rehabilitating those found to be positive who if they fail to comply with the drug-free policy will be dismissed from the service.
Addressing NAN at the end of the Passing Out Parade of the 3rd Conversion Course at the Nigerian Immigration Training School in Kano on Saturday, December 21, 2019, also stated that the Service will not continue to give arms to drug addicts.
“Mr President recently inaugurated a committee on drug abuse, all the twenty-eight thousand Immigration Officers are Nigerians, they are not only Nigerians but have been empowered with arms to protect our borders.
“If we don’t have a strategy to remove this menace from our officers, it will be dangerous to our country and I hope other security agencies will do the same.
“You can’t give arms to people who take drugs. The best thing you can do is to start checking the situation” he stated. Explaining the process and nature of the blood test he explained that the first step of the drug test will not ascribe punitive measures to those found to be positive.
He said, “the first stage will not be punitive, it will be fining and I will start with it. That’s why I said the test will start with me. I will be the first person to do the test and others will follow.
“When we find you to have drug in your blood we will rehabilitate you and guide you on how to stop. We will then conduct another test and I assure you by the time we do three tests and that person is not changing, it means that person cannot work with us.
“If in the first test we find out that you have drug in your blood we will not allow you to carry weapon.
This is very important in terms of national security because government buy arms for peace so we cannot use arms against our people” he declared.
