Marwa Calls for Continued Battle Against Illicit Drug Trade

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has called on its personnel to sustain the fight against illicit drugs, describing the battle as a generational responsibility that requires resilience and long-term commitment.

The call was made in Abuja by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.), while he was honoring 274 personnel for outstanding performance.

The 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards ceremony also recognized 18 best performing commands and 19 non-governmental and media organizations for their contributions to Nigeria’s campaign against drug abuse.

Marwa said the threat from drugs continued to change as trafficking networks created new routes and ways to avoid law enforcement.

“The war on illicit drugs is not a campaign with an expiry date. It’s a generational duty,” he said.

“For every cartel we take down, intelligence says another will try to rise. “Traffickers will find another route for every corridor we close,” he added.

The persistent nature of drug trafficking, the NDLEA chief said, requires the sustained commitment of the agency and its partners.

He emphasized that drug trafficking and substance abuse could not be defeated by enforcement alone, citing the important roles played by civil society organizations and the media.

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Civil society groups help to prevent addiction and support vulnerable young people in communities, while journalists help to draw public attention to trafficking routes, rehabilitation efforts and families rebuilding their lives after addiction, he said.

Enforcement alone was never going to win the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse,” Marwa said.

He said civil society and media organizations had a multiplier effect on the agency’s efforts, taking anti-drug messages into homes, schools and communities.

Marwa pointed to recent operations such as the dismantling of the Amadi Simon drug cartel and the dismantling of two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating in forests in Ogun and Oyo states.

He also disclosed the disruption of a tramadol cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor, which he said had contributed to opioid abuse among Nigerian youths for years.

“These were not ordinary attacks. They were the result of patient intelligence-gathering, cross-border cooperation and officers prepared to go where the criminals thot no one would follow,” he said.

Marwa told the award winners to take the award as a benchmark to emulate rather than a ceiling to their performance.

He also urged civil society organizations and media groups to view the recognition as a challenge to intensify their campaign against drug trafficking and substance abuse.

The chairman of the NDLEA congratulated all the recipients and thanked Nigerians for continuing to repose their trust in the agency as it confronts the country’s persistent challenges of drug trafficking and substance abuse.