By Ben Efe 27.6.2026
As the world marked the United Nations International Day against drug abuse/trafficking on June 26 speakers at the Chioma Ajunwa Foundation seminar to mark the day have raised an alarm over the alarming consumption of synthetic drugs among Nigerian youths.
The seminar which was held at the Police College Ikeja Lagos drew a large crowd of stakeholders include the Counselor General of the Chinese Embassy in Lagos, their German counterparts, traditional rulers, medical practitioners, sports athletes and students.
Chioma Ajunwa Oparah a former long jump Olympic gold medalists told the students and youths in attendance that abusing drugs could truncate their God given talent and crush their dreams.
Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency Commander in charge of Tincan Port and Cargo, Lagos Eucharia Ekwu noted that the number of people and particularly Nigerians using mind bending drugs kept on increasing.
“The number of synthetic and psychopathic drugs in the market is increasing and the people consuming them is also increasing this has become a problem for the government.
“People using drugs starts from the age of 12 in the primary school because these drugs are readily available. This is why the NDLEA is working double hard to prevent drugs from coming into the country.”
Dr. Kemi Alejo director of Link Fertility Clinic Lagos harped on the need to prevent young people from forming the habit of consuming harmful drugs.
“An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Taking hazardous and harmful psychotic substance is a habit that starts from an early age. It could be peer pressure, curiosity, experimentation and also poverty.”
According to United Nations 2026 World Drug Report most abused drugs include cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, opioids and more.
Cannabis remained the most widely used drug world, with 256 million users, followed by opioids (63 million), amphetamines (32 million), cocaine (25 million) and ecstasy (21 million).
The report also highlighted the rapid evolution of synthetic drugs.
In 2024, authorities identified 755 new psychoactive substances, including 118 reported for the first time, while the number of different drugs detected in seizures is now five times higher than before the year 2000.
“The market is becoming very diverse, but also perhaps more dangerous,” Chloé Carpentier, lead researcher for the report, said. “We don’t always know what we are taking, and first responders don’t know what they are responding to.”
