They spoke at a seminar organised by crime reporters in Lagos to commemorate the United Nations (UN) Day against Drugs and Human Trafficking.
According to Edgal, four out of 10 young persons in Lagos were currently indulging in hard drugs. The, he said, rate would skyrocket if nothing was done to stop it.
He said ex-drug users and human trafficking victims should be shown love so that they would not relapse.
The police chief blamed the problem on parental and societal failures.
Edgal said security agencies should do more of advocacy and not enforcement.
He said: “The issue of drug abuse has been a major problem. In fact, I feel we need to declare a state of emergency on drug abuse. However, we need to ask ourselves how we got here. Drugs had been there since we were young but the difference is that we had parents that cared. We had family structures, which are now broken down.
“Societal values are gone. Family is supposed to be a platform upon which every other thing grows. If that family influence is missing, one end up being vulnerable to crime.
“The situation now is that some parents are afraid of their children. Even schools no longer care about the conduct of pupils. Religious leaders should also dedicate time to tell the people evils of drug abuse. It is only a sane society that listens to spiritual message.
“We will continue to do our own part. I want a safe environment where our children can grow up to contribute their quota to the development of the society.”
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