Daniel Otera
A growing wave of drug abuse and cultism among young people is now driving insecurity in Plateau State, according to Barrister Christopher Kyohroh John, Chairman of Jos North Local Government Area.
Kyohroh issued the warning while receiving members of the Plateau State Fact-Finding Committee on Friday. The delegation, led by retired Major General Nicholas Rogers, was established by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to investigate the root causes of recurring violence across the state since 2001.
While inter-communal clashes and land disputes have long shaped narratives around violence in Plateau, Kyohroh drew attention to what he described as “homegrown threats” festering within urban communities in Jos North.
“Our security challenges in Jos North are mostly internal drug abuse, cultism, occasional kidnapping, and proliferation of arms,” he said.
“These are not terrorist attacks or ethnic clashes but homegrown issues that require collective action. The use of drugs emboldens these youths and fuels isolated killings. We need support at every level to tackle this.”
Records from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) support the chairman’s concerns. In 2023 alone, the Plateau State Command reported 1,155 arrests and the seizure of over 3,122 kilograms of illicit drugs, including cannabis, codeine-based syrup, and tramadol. According to Commander Umar Yahuza, 96 convictions were secured during that period.
In 2024, NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa revealed that more than 6,975 kilograms of illicit substances were intercepted in Plateau State within two years, with 1,720 suspects arrested, many of them under the age of 30.
“The level of drug abuse in Plateau State is estimated at 11%, which translates to about 240,000 individuals,” said Plateau NDLEA Commander Mustapha Umar during a press briefing.
“These include both users and dealers of various hard substances.”
Although the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has not recently released a Plateau-specific breakdown of drug use, multiple NDLEA and community-level reports point to a disturbing trend. Abuse of tramadol, rohypnol, cannabis, and codeine-based mixtures is increasingly reported among out-of-school youths and adolescents in urban areas such as Jos North.
This reflects findings from the 2019 National Drug Use Survey by the NBS and UNODC, which reported that 11.3% of Nigeria’s population aged 15–64 had used drugs among the highest rates in West Africa. The North-Central zone, which includes Plateau, recorded some of the highest levels of poly-drug use.
Beyond narcotics, cult-related violence is also escalating in Jos North. Community leaders and police operations have linked recent gang activity to rising drug abuse among adolescents. Areas such as Rikkos, Angwan Rogo, and Bauchi Road have witnessed intermittent clashes, many involving minors and triggered by turf wars or initiation rituals.
A previous study by the CLEEN Foundation, though national in scope, identified youth cultism and drug use as key contributors to urban insecurity in Nigeria’s North-Central region. The group has advocated for early intervention in hotspots such as Jos North to address the root causes of violence.
“Unlike other LGAs where we’ve seen land disputes and mass killings, Jos North is dealing with internal threats like drugs and cultism,” Kyohroh reiterated.
“We have taken measures to prevent escalation, but more is needed.”
Plateau has long been a flashpoint for communal violence, most notably during the 2001 Jos crisis. According to Human Rights Watch, the six-day riot sparked by political appointments and deep-rooted ethno-religious tensions resulted in hundreds of deaths and mass displacement.
By 2004, a federal government fact-finding committee reported that more than 53,000 people had been killed in related violence in Plateau State since 2001. Yet emerging data now points to a shift in the nature of insecurity from identity-based conflict to internal social decay.
A 2023 report by SBM Intelligence warned of rising cult-related killings, gang activity, and drug-fuelled youth violence in urban centres like Jos North as emerging threats to public safety.
Major General Rogers, who led the current fact-finding committee, reaffirmed the group’s commitment to finding durable solutions.
“We are here to listen, to assess, and to provide recommendations to His Excellency that will help restore peace and development to this land,” Rogers said.
“We want to understand why the crisis has lingered for so long and what solutions can be explored.”
Experts say long-term stability will require more than policy reviews. Civil society organisations are urging the state to scale up drug rehabilitation programmes, invest in youth education, and restore community policing networks.
Security operatives have also raised the alarm about the impact of drug-related crime. In June 2023, the Plateau State Police Command reported a surge in criminal cases linked to drug use. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Patrick Edung, stated:
“We have in custody a worrisome number of youths as a result of drug‑induced crimes ranging from rape, cultism, and armed robbery.”
Groups like Face of Peace Global say the crisis is also rooted in family and social structures.
“The use of illicit drugs among youths in the state is a major factor facilitating the breach of peace,” said Salis Abdulsalam, a spokesperson for the group.
“Lack of parental guidance and community surveillance makes it worse.”
A 2021 study by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) found that nearly 80% of Plateau residents define peace as “good relations between ethnic or religious communities,” but most also recognise a shift in the sources of insecurity. More than 80% of respondents supported the presence of local vigilante groups, describing them as essential for maintaining order.
While the state government continues its probe into the historic roots of Plateau’s crises, authorities in Jos North are warning that tackling drug abuse, youth violence, and cultism must now become a priority.
The evidence suggests that the true enemy may no longer be external or tribal but internal, social, and dangerously ignored.