Illicit Drug Use and Street Violence in Aba Metropolis, Nigeria: A decade analysis, 2015 -2025
Abstract
This study investigates hard drug use and street violence in Aba metropolis, Abia State, from 2015 to 2025, drawing exclusively on evidence from Aba and its immediate metropolitan area. The objectives are to examine the correlation between hard drug use and street violence, identify commonly abused hard drugs, assess the role of unemployment as a driver of drug-related violence, and analyse the challenges in addressing drug abuse and street violence. The research is grounded in the Availability-Proneness Theory. A case study design was employed, relying on qualitative secondary data from thirty-five sources, including journal articles, a preprint, official statistics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency operational disclosures, government statements, and press reports of specific raids and incidents, all analyzed through content analysis. Findings indicate that drugs and violence converge at specific locations, such as York Street, a drug bunk on Ngwa Road, a section of Ahia Ohuru market, Cemetery Barracks, and the abandoned Enyimba Hotel at Ogbor Hill. A significant portion of reported violence in the city lacks drug attribution. Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, tramadol, and codeine syrup were identified, though only some were linked to violent locations. Unemployment was identified as necessary but insufficient, as disputes over levies and control of trading spaces independently drive confrontations. The response to these issues has been characterized by raids without sustained occupation, arrests without convictions, and treatment efforts lacking adequate capacity. Recommendations include occupying raided sites and establishing permanent outposts, implementing joint enforcement against concealed supply chains, publishing a schedule of lawful levies with formal apprenticeship, and aligning courts, treatment capacity, and command locations with identified flashpoints.
Keywords
Abacriminalityhard drugsillicit drugssubstance abusestreet violence
References
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