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Lawyers intending to join the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Kano state must henceforth undergo drug tests to ascertain the state of their mental health.
The state chairman of the NBA, Mohammed Inuwa Musa said this on Saturday during a programme tagged: ”Kano State NBA Walk Against Drug Abuse”, as part of activities marking the 2018 NBA Kano Law Week.
The lawyers, who walked from their office located at Farm Centre, to the Emir of Kano’s palace, said the walk was to demonstrate their anger against drug abuse.
According to Musa, intending NBA members would be made to undergo urine and blood tests to ascertain if they were free from the abuse of banned substances.
He said Kano NBA would liaise with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to draw up modalities for the new procedure.
The NBA expressed support for the decision by the Federal Government to ban the importation of codeine into the country.
“The worrisome menace of increase in the abuse of hard drugs is sad,” he said. “Kano NBA is in support of the decision by the Federal Government to ban the importation of codeine into the country.
“Henceforth, legal practitioners who indicate their intentions to be admitted into NBA Kano will undergo urine and blood tests to ascertain if they are free from the abuse of banned substances”.