Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has thrown his weight behind the introduction of compulsory and random drug integrity tests for students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, as part of broader efforts to curb substance abuse among the nation’s youth.
The decision followed a meeting held on Wednesday in Abuja with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd). Both parties agreed on a coordinated strategy to tackle drug use in schools.
In a statement released by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Alausa also approved the integration of modern drug education into the secondary school curriculum and announced the formation of an inter-ministerial technical working group between the Ministry of Education and the NDLEA.
Marwa had proposed a three-part approach: revising drug education content in schools, launching dedicated drug abuse prevention programmes in secondary schools, and enforcing a drug testing policy in tertiary institutions—targeting both new and returning students, alongside random testing.
Describing substance abuse as a national security threat, Marwa linked it to rising criminal activities, including terrorism and banditry. He revealed that the NDLEA has arrested over 40,000 drug offenders and seized more than 5,500 metric tons of illicit substances in the past two years.
“We are fighting for the very soul of our children,” Marwa said. “Without drugs, many of the crimes we’re dealing with today wouldn’t happen.”
In his response, Minister Alausa acknowledged the urgency of the issue and underscored the negative impact of drug use on educational outcomes and employability.
“When youths are involved in drugs, they don’t attend school consistently. And even when they do, their ability to think critically and make sound decisions is weakened, which makes them less employable and traps them in a cycle of dysfunction,” he said.
He confirmed that the ministry will move forward with the drug test policy for tertiary institutions.
“We have no choice. We’ll begin with tertiary institutions—testing both fresh and returning students, along with random testing. It has to be done,” Alausa stated.
The minister also announced plans to create a Substance Use Prevention Unit within the Ministry of Education, adding that curriculum development for secondary schools is already underway, with plans to eventually extend it to primary schools.
“I’ve directed the Senior Secondary School department to begin integrating drug education. We can definitely implement this in the ongoing secondary school curriculum review,” he added.
Alausa also pledged the Ministry’s collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to support the NDLEA Academy in Jos, reinforcing a unified national response to drug abuse among students.
