Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, has said new findings show disturbing levels of drug use on university and college campuses.

Speaking at a JoyNews dialogue on Thursday, August 28, themed “Breaking the Chains: Ghana’s Opioid Crisis”, Mr Opare Addo said, “Codeine and cough syrups stand at 28%. And then you will be amazed to know that 12% of our university and tertiary students are abusing cocaine and 11% heroin.”

According to him, weed edibles are the most widely used, with 59% of respondents admitting to consumption.

He added that shisha and hookah, often mixed with other substances, account for 49%, while 41% of students abuse prescription drugs.

Mr Opare Addo expressed concern about students increasingly experimenting with expensive hard drugs.

“I know cocaine is expensive, I know heroin is expensive, and we even drilled down to the various institutions,” he revealed.

He noted that the extent of drug abuse varies across schools.

“The nursing health institutions don’t do a lot of abuse. Reasons are that they still operate some form of military regime in the schools, like you need permission to go out. But the worst abusers are the universities,” he said.

The minister further described universities as “epicentres” of the drug crisis, stressing that these drugs are often sold openly during hall week celebrations and festive occasions on campus.

myjoyonline.com

Salifu Nko-nya Nurudeen, a 20-year-old Computer Science student at the University for Development Studies (UDS), has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Tamale High Court presided by Charles Acheampong after being found guilty of murdering a male colleague student over a female student.

The convict was the ex-boyfriend of the female student who had ended their relationship and was in a new relationship with the deceased, Mohammed Zakiu Wunpini, 19-year-old Pharmacy student of the University for Development Studies.

The incident, which occurred in September 2024 sent shockwaves through the university community when students found the deceased dead at an uncompleted building close to the university.

When the incident happened last year, the family of the deceased believed their son was a victim of armed robbery. However, subsequent investigations identified Salifu Nko-nya as the perpetrator.

CCTV footage from a nearby house captured the incident, showing the victim being pursued into an uncompleted building, where he fell and was stabbed multiple times.

However, during investigation, the police found the deceased phone under the bed in the room of the convict and when asked why he had Mohammed’s phone, he indicated that he kept it for safety.

Prosecutors, led by Senior State Attorney, Linda Anibrika, presented evidence from telecommunications companies indicating that Salifu Nko-nya took the deceased’s phone, removed the SIM card, and inserted it into his own device to impersonate him shortly after the murder.

When the convict was asked how he got access to the deceased phone, he indicated that he saw the deceased being chased by some persons and that the phone fell off the deceased pocket and he took it.

The convict reportedly sent several messages to the deceased’s family and friends, including one to a friend that he was in trouble and that some people wanted him dead.

He also impersonated the deceased and sent a break up message to his ex-girlfriend explaining that he wanted her to also have a feel of a breakup experience.

The jury after the entire proceeding returned a guilty verdict with a count of 6 to 1 in favor of conviction, leading to the sentencing.

FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale

Two students of St. Louis Senior High School in Kumasi were apprehended by school staff after they were found hiding in the trunk of a private vehicle in a foiled attempt to break bounds.

The incident occurred during a routine inspection of vehicles entering and exiting the school premises. According to school authorities, the vehicle in question had entered the campus under the pretense of picking up a passenger through the Bolt ride-hailing service.

However, suspicions were raised when the driver attempted to leave the school without picking up any visible passenger. Security officers, unconvinced by his explanation, insisted on a thorough search of the vehicle. The search led to the shocking discovery of the two students concealed in the trunk.

The students were immediately handed over to school authorities for further disciplinary action, while the driver of the vehicle was also questioned.

School officials have since reiterated their commitment to enforcing discipline and safeguarding students’ welfare, and have urged parents to support the school’s efforts in maintaining order on campus.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

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