CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
 Drug abuse, is described as a patterned use of a drug or substance in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others. Nutt, D.; King, L. A.; Saulsbury, W.; Blakemore, C. (2007). The resultant effect is that criminal or anti-social behavior occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug. Other effects may reflect physical, social, and psychological harm; The agency vested with the responsibility of eradicating the drug war in Nigeria is the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) .The drug war has constituted a major challenge in Nigeria following the increasing number of cases of drug convicted case globally coming from Nigeria. The agencys fight is to eliminate the growing, processing, manufacturing, selling, exporting and trafficking of hard drugs. Consequently the agency has spread its net to combat the menace through establishing its presence in seaports, airports and the countrys borders. The agency is also targeting the leaders of drug business and money launderers. NDLEA war centers on the arrest, investigation and the prosecution of offenses related to drug trafficking. In other cases they are vested with the responsibility of destroying hard drugs, plants, and related substances and collaborating with international drug units to enforce the eradication of the menace. Nigeria constitutes a major destination of drug trafficking in Africa and continues to expand its network worldwide. They control the drug market in sub-Sahara Africa and maintain distribution from different locations all over the world.The huge deal on heroin in the United State comes from Nigeria and smuggling activities of cocaine from America to Europe and Africa are carried out by Nigerians. They are also involved in the cultivation and exportation of marijuana from Nigeria to other countries in West Africa and Europe. Consequently the rate of drug trafficking in Nigeria requires decisive actions to eliminate the menace. A study on frequent arrest of drug trafficking in British airports shows that 65 percent of the heroin seizures of 50 grams or more came from Nigeria, which constituted a transit route for 20 percent of all heroines coming from the region of Southwest Asia. The study also shows that   20 percent of this hard drug cases in Britain came via Nigerian ships. This development has resulted in a huge number of arrests in foreign countries involving Nigerians and many have been jailed for the crime. The study seeks to appraise the reversible and irreversible effects of drug abuse.