… Hour after Foundation Sensitized Students on Dangers of Illicit Drugs
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Students at the outreach on dangers of hard drugs organised by the foundations hours before the abduction of its president, Ambassador David Onoja in Lokoja by unknown gunmen on Thrusday.
The President and Founder of Enemona Josh Humanitarian Foundation, Ambassador David Onoja has been abducted by yet to be identified gunmen in his house at Wada road, Lokoja.
According to family source , Onoja was picked from his house around 10:30am today, Thursday by six gunmen who dressed in police uniform armed with AK-47 and bullet proof vest.
The source added that the gunmen came to the resident of the philanthropist in a Sienna bus maroun colour and manhandled him before they whisked him away to an unknown destination.
The kidnap is coming few hours after Enemona Josh Humanitarian Foundation held an outreach during which it warned students of secondary and tertiary institutions across the country against the use of illicit drugs and other substances capable of destroying their livelihood and academic career.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr Williams Illah gave the warning during Education Outreach Programme put in place by the organization for the matriculating students of the Kogi State College of Education Ankpa on Wednesday.
Illah in his paper presentation titled “Illicit use of substances and drug abuse” said that the President and founder of the Foundation, Ambassador Gabriel Onoja has expressed worries over the decay in the society as a result of ritual killings, cultism, drugs abuse and other unethical conducts that are prevalent in the society as well as educational institutions.
He noted that Onoja’s concern necessitated his social intervention programmes in schools to educate Nigerian youths on the dangers of social vices in the society.
Speaking further, the Executive Director of the Foundation identified peer pressure, parental or family irresponsibility, influence from parents that are into drugs,
failure of the mass media to create educating contents, too much availability and exposure of drugs to youths and lack of monitoring on the part of regulatory agencies as the major causes of drug abuse in the society.
He said that the effect of illicit substances most often led to students having psychological and emotional problems which affects their studies and called on parents , government and regulatory agencies to be proactive in eradicating the incessant use of illicit drugs in tertiary institutions.
“Illicit use of drugs also lead to stress, fatigue, anxiety, it is largely responsible for bullying, it is responsible for students beating up lecturers once they are high, suicide and murder sets in when they are depressed, it leads to rape and killing of fellow human beings, memotional disability among others” he said.
In his speech, the Provost of the College, Dr Muhammed Kabir Ibrahim described the sensitization embarked upon by the Foundation on the effect of illicit drugs as a welcome development , assuring that the institution would sustain the partnership already created by the organization.
“Apparently government alone can not provide all the needs of any tertiary institution and we have been looking for a robust and sincere partnership and Enemona Josh Humanitarian Foundation has proved to us that they are capable to partner with us to move the citadel of learning higher” he said
