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'Suicide bombers' in Northern Nigeria and other places are using the opiod Tramadol - UNODC
The drug is noted to have the potential of making its user feel high similar to consumption of cocaine and other hard drugs.
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The UN agency said Tramadol is always one of the items usually recovered from the body of suicide bombers or dead members of the group. This is because it is mostly taken by members of the group before carrying out attacks.
According to reports in BBC News, the volume of the opioid seizures has skyrocketed from 300kg (660lb) in 2013 to three tonnes by 2016.
The Guardian UK also reported that the terrorist group stuffs the opioid in dates and fed it to children before sending them on a suicide mission. This is to reduce feeling and make them high for the mission.
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A woman in northern Mali confirmed this practice in the region as well. She told the UN agency that children as little as 10 years are "…being given pills in their tea in order to help reduce their feeling of hunger".
Many uses of Tramadol in Nigeria, and other African countries
Health agencies in Nigeria have raised concerns about rampant cases of misuse and the overdose of the pills in the country. The pill is mainly prescribed as painkillers but Nigerians have found other uses for it.
Tramadol belongs to a family of analgesic, and addiction to it has similar effects as taking morphine, cocaine or other hard drugs.
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For Nigerian youths, Tramadol offers more than pain-relieving effects. They have discovered it also give them a feeling of euphoric high when taken in large quantity. Hence the opioid is mixed with alcohol to increase the effects of the alcohol.
In other places it serves as an aphrodisiac while others use it to facilitate long manual labour.
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