{"id":15171,"date":"2025-06-27T05:53:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/?p=15171"},"modified":"2025-06-27T05:53:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:53:48","slug":"fight-against-drug-abuse-in-schools-cran-sensitises-students-in-ajegunle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/2025\/06\/27\/fight-against-drug-abuse-in-schools-cran-sensitises-students-in-ajegunle\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight Against Drug Abuse in Schools: CRAN Sensitises Students in Ajegunle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>By Raheem Ibrahim<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) has sensitised public secondary school students in the Ajegunle-Ajeromi area of Lagos on the dangers of illicit drug use.<\/p>\n<p>The awareness campaign was organised in commemoration of the 2025 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, with the theme: \u201cThe Evidence is Clear, Invest in Prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15173 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/c7273504-db08-4a08-8e7b-16f477d103cb-300x203.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/c7273504-db08-4a08-8e7b-16f477d103cb-300x203.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/c7273504-db08-4a08-8e7b-16f477d103cb.jpeg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In his welcome address at the event held on Thursday at the Bola Ige Millennium Secondary School Hall, Tolu Complex, Ajegunle, CRAN President, Mr. Olalekan Olabulo, cautioned students against the use of banned substances such as marijuana and cocaine, reminding them that offenders risk up to 20 years in jail upon conviction.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, \u201cI want to begin by saying congratulations to you. Drug abuse is not peculiar to Nigeria. But because of what is happening here, we must take responsibility and fight within our own environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olabulo urged the students to share the knowledge they gained with their peers. \u201cWhen you leave here, tell people what you learned today. Practice it and promote it. You\u2019ll be saving lives\u2014and your own future. If you don\u2019t educate your friends about the dangers of drug abuse and they fall victim, it could become a big problem tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He emphasised the importance of continuous advocacy and sensitisation by government agencies, noting that CRAN has been involved in school outreach programmes for over four years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe most of you are Gen Z. When we were growing up, we mostly heard of marijuana and cocaine, but today there are more dangerous substances. We\u2019ve carefully selected experts to orientate you on how to stay free from drug abuse. By the end of today, I believe you\u2019ll all be inducted into the fight against drug abuse,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Also speaking at the event, Deputy Commander of Narcotics (DCN) Garba Abubakar of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) educated the students on the nature and consequences of drug abuse.<\/p>\n<p>He listed banned substances such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana, urging the students to avoid them.<\/p>\n<p>Abubakar also clarified the difference between illicit drugs and approved medications like Paracetamol, warning that even socially accepted drugs can be harmful when misused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone using these substances should know they\u2019re damaging their organs. Their blood weakens, and they may end up on the streets. It\u2019s very deadly, very dangerous, and very difficult to quit once you start,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n<p>Ambassador Olatutu Oladunni, Chairperson of the Lagos State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), also addressed the students. She advised them to maintain healthy eating habits and emphasised the link between nutrition and physical fitness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWatch what you eat, how you eat, and ensure what you consume is nutritious, hygienic, and appropriate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She added that careless consumption of edibles could ruin an athlete\u2019s career. \u201cEdibles can make or mar one\u2019s future, especially if they cause a failed doping test\u2014something that could disqualify athletes and compromise fairness in sports,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Raheem Ibrahim The Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) has sensitised public secondary school students in the Ajegunle-Ajeromi area<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-grassroots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15174,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15171\/revisions\/15174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}