Leverage Social Media To Reach Out To Youths, EDOGIS MD Tasks NDLEA
By Simeon OSAJIE
The Managing Director, Edo State Geographic Information Service, (EDOGIS), Dr. Tony Ikpasaja has tasked the Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) on the aggressive use of social media to reach out to the youths on the dangers of illicit drug abuse.
Dr. Ikpasaja made this call on Friday, when the new Edo State Commander of the NDLEA, CN, Mitchell Ofoyeju, led top officers of the Agency on a courtesy visit to EDOGIS.
While welcoming the new Commander of the NDLEA to Edo State, the EDOGIS MD, Dr. Ikpasaja commended the officers and men of the Agency for what he described as “a very tasking job” and urged the Commander to leverage more on social media to sensitize the youths on the dangers of engaging in the use of illicit drugs.
The EDOGIS MD promised to support and collaborate with the NDLEA Commander to succeed in his assigned task, assuring that “EDOGIS will support you to support the State Governor to arrest Cultism and other drug-related crimes in the state.”
On the request to help the NDLEA secure the land that the previous administration in the state allocated to the Agency, the EDOGIS MD promised to remedy the situation and process their C of O as soon as the proper documentation was completed.
Dr. Ikpasaja equally used the opportunity to draw the NDLEA Commander’s attention to the existence of a drug cartel in parts of the State and urged him and his team to take decisive steps to redress the situation.
Earlier, the NDLEA Commander, CN Mitchell Ofoyeju said he was in EDOGIS to notify the Managing Director of his recent redeployment and resumption in Edo State on Monday, May 19, 2025 and to leverage on the existing strategic partnership between the NDLEA and EDOGIS, especially in the fight against drug trafficking and other related crimes that pose significant challenge to the society.
He described the drug situation in Edo State as worrisome and expressed his resolve to tackle it head-on by taking measures to incapacitate the drug dealers financially.
He hinted that the Agency under the initiative of the Chairman, Brig. Gen Buba Marwa (Rtd.) has a toll free line (080010203040) that can attend to Nigerians in three major languages, adding that 14.3 Million people were discovered in 2018 to have used illicit drugs in Nigeria.
He posited that interestingly, the NDLEA’s drive against drug trafficking aligns perfectly with Governor Monday Okpebholo’s fight against Cultism in Edo State, emphasizing that EDOGIS support and partnership in achieving success in that regard, was crucial.
He stated that during the last End SARS protests in Edo State, the NDLEA office was destroyed while the Agency lost so much data and documents and therefore requested the MD, EDOGIS to use his good offices to resettle the NDLEA, particularly with respect to the parcel of land the previous administration in the state allocated to the Agency in the wake of the wanton destruction it suffered.
Highpoint of the visit was the decoration of the MD, EDOGIS, Dr. Tony Ikpasaja with NDLEA official Badge by the NDLEA Commander, CN Mitchell Ofoyeju and a group photograph with Management team of EDOGIS.
