The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says female students in most Nigerian universities abuse hard drugs more than their male counterparts.
Spokesperson of Anambra State command of the agency, Charles Odigie who made the disclosure in Awka, described the situation as unfortunate, adding that it was a stark reality staring the society in the face.
Odigie, who spoke during a one-day symposium tagged ‘Curbing school dropout and drug abuse’, said from the command’s recent arrests of suspected drug offenders in the state, female students were majorly those who formed the bulk of the offenders and harped on the need for re-orientation.
Identifying ‘shisha’, a popular local hard drug consumed by youths using pipes, as the most widely abused drug by the female students, Odigie regretted the general high rate of drug abuse in tertiary institutions, saying it was an indication that students allowed themselves to be influenced in the school environment, where they had more freedom.
The high rate of the abuse, he further said, was due to the absence of school hostels on campuses, making it difficult to control students who abuse these substances.