Commander of the 17 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Babatunde Omopariola, has warned against the use of hard drugs and substances by officers and soldiers in the brigade, saying they don’t need them to perform.
Speaking at the 2025 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) in Katsina, the commander highlighted the creeping influence of drug abuse within the armed forces.
General Omopariola dismissed the myth that drug use, especially marijuana or painkillers like pentazocine, enhances combat performance.
“Are we not fearless? Are we not bold?” he asked, “So why should a soldier among us say he needs weed to function? That’s nonsense.”
He shared personal encounters from the field, including instances where soldiers attempted to justify their drug use before operations.
“One said to me, ‘Sir, I need weed to perform.’ I told him, Don’t try that nonsense with me. If you need drugs to function, why were you trained as a soldier?
“Drugs do not make warriors; discipline, training, and values do. We’ve conducted countless successful operations without weed.
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“So any soldier claiming otherwise should be sent for counselling and treatment. And if that fails, charge him. We cannot be afraid to confront this menace.”
Omopariola added. “You must be ready to give orders, take action and uphold the law. If you’re afraid of your men, you have no business leading them.”
He charged officers to stop tolerating indiscipline in the name of avoiding confrontation.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Soldiers planting weed, smoking weed, and you let it slide?”
General Omopariola also warned about the generational impact of drug use, especially on unborn children.
He urged soldiers and civilians alike to take responsibility, not just for themselves but for future generations.
Assistant Commander of Narcotics at the NDLEA, Zainab Ibrahim, emphasised the broader societal consequences of drug abuse. Linking drugs directly to terrorism, banditry, and violent crime, she said, “No one beheads another human being without being high. No sane person does that.”
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