I sat down in my very tiny office at Garki 2 Abuja and reflected profoundly about the groundbreaking counter narcotic efforts of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) under the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has created the enabling environment for the chief executive officer and executive chairman of that agency Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa to implement some of the most robust counter narcotic strategies to combat the threats posed to Nigeria’s national security by drug barons and trafficking networks.
I then came up with this thinking that aside the core mandate of enforcing the laws against trafficking, selling or consumption of illicit substances and hard drugs in Nigeria which the current NDLEA has been doing so effectively, the NDLEA is actually playing a charitable role of preserving lives and preventing a lot of Nigerians from walking into the minefield of executions by firing squads or hanging which is the popular judicial sanctions imposed on drug traffickers by a lot of Countries in South East Asia and even in such middle Eastern countries such as the popular destination for millions of Nigerians which is Saudi Arabia.
I think that media reports haven’t sufficiently celebrated this salient duty that the NDLEA has effectively played just as we in Nigeria have not come to terms with the hundreds of thousands of precious Nigerian lives that were prevented from dying because of the vigilance of the men, women, officers of the NDLEA who effectively and efficiently stopped these suicidal businessmen and women from proceeding with their dangerous wares of hard drugs and getting captured in such dangerous jurisdictions like Indonesia, China, India and many more of these countries that have made drug trafficking and capital offence punishable by the death penalty. Millions of lives of prospective drug addicts are routinely saved with each passing arrests of traffickers by the NDLEA.
I was actually in the middle of this intellectual trance, when it dawned on me that there is a recent revelation made by the Governor of Anambra state who said that there are dozens of citizens of Anambra State who are awaiting executions for drug related offences in those same jurisdictions I just mentioned awhile ago.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State had in a recent media outing disclosed that a troubling total of 23 indigenes from the state are currently facing death sentences in Indonesia due to drug-related offenses. He shared this alarming information on Wednesday during a speech addressed to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who recently switched their allegiance to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in support of his bid for re-election.
In his address, Soludo expressed deep concern for the plight of Anambra citizens entangled in the international drug trade. “In Indonesia, 23 of our own are on death row for drug-related crimes,” he lamented.
The governor cautioned against the deceptive practices of certain native doctors who falsely claim they can provide charms to ensure successful drug smuggling without detection.
After digesting this piece of information from the Anambra State governor, it then dawned on me that many more Nigerians from many other states could be in the same situation given that a lot of Nigerians operating from the diaspora have been involved in drug related enterprises and that many have actually been caught in many other nations whereby drug related offences are punishable by the death penalty.
A very pathetic scenario is that even when the NDLEA under the current hierarchy headed by General Marwa is doing so much to curb drug trafficking, this toxic business has continued unabated. Joyfully, the NDLEA has continued to reach out to many advanced nations of the World to sign memoranda of partnerships to wage unrelenting war on Narcotics. The USA recently made donations to the NDLEA.
General Marwa stated recently and rightly so that despite the Agency’s improved performance, the war against drug trafficking and abuse was far from over.
“As an organisation, we are committed to surmounting the challenges.” The NDLEA said the challenges notwithstanding, tremendous successes have been recorded on all fronts against the drug menace.
“So far, the results have been justifying. In 2024, we seized over 2.6 million kilograms of illicit drugs. Across the country, we arrested more than 18,500 drug trafficking offenders. Got over 3,250 convicted, including 10 drug barons, with more than 220 hectares of cannabis farms destroyed.
“In the same breath we counselled and rehabilitated over 8, 200, with more than 3,000 sensitisation and advocacy programmes organized across the country in schools, markets, motor parks, worship centres, work places and communities, among others, thus creating an equipoise between our drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts,” Marwa said.
Marwa then confirmed the heart of this my reflection when he categorically said: “Our shared goal remains the protection of lives and the promotion of a safer, healthier world. As Chairman and CEO of NDLEA, I pledge our commitment to accountability, transparency, and the effective utilisation of the resources entrusted to us.
One of the modern facilities at the possession of NDLEA is an upgraded laboratory which is now equipped with cutting-edge technology, which enhances the NDLEA’s capacity to analyze suspicious substances and to process evidence from crime scenes and suspects.
This writer also found out that in these arduous tasks of saving Nigerian lives both from the point of view of the traffickers arrested and stopped from being caught in nations whereby drug trafficking is a capital offence punishable by the death penalty and also from the collateral damage that the distribution and consumption of hard drugs within Nigeria would have done to lives of the addicts and victims of crimes committed by terrorists under the influence of hard drugs and illicit substances, the NDLEA has successfully signed partnership agreements with several advanced nations such as the USA aforementioned, the UK, Canada and also Saudi Arabia which is the latest breakthrough.
Speaking at the signing of the partnership agreement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday 7th April 2025, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) who was accompanied by the Agency’s Director of Operations.
His words: “However, today marks a particularly significant milestone—one that has been long overdue and holds immense importance for both our nations. Today’s event marks the culmination of the strong relationship between our two nations, particularly between our respective anti-narcotics agencies—the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of Nigeria and the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, Marwa stated.
“As a result, in the last four years, we have made over 57,792 arrests, including 65 drug barons, leading to the seizure of more than 10million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs. We have also recorded the conviction of over 10,572 offenders while a total of 22, 047 drug users have been treated and rehabilitated across our 33 treatment centres during the same period”, Marwa stated.
He acknowledged how past collaboration between both nations has resulted in numerous arrests and drug seizures. “Over the past 18 years, Nigerian airports have recorded multiple drug-related arrests on outbound flights to Saudi Arabia. At MAKIA, NAIA, and MMIA, a total of 44 suspects were apprehended across 35 cases involving departing flights. Between 12th November 2007 and 15th January 2025, these operations led to the seizure of 37.6kg of cocaine, along with other prohibited substances.
“Saudi authorities have also provided intelligence leading to significant seizures, including the interception of 74.12kg of Captagon opioids at Apapa Port, Lagos, in September 2021. The shipment, originating from Syria, was under surveillance for five months before NDLEA seized it, marking the first known Captagon bust in Africa. Similarly, Saudi authorities have played a key role in joint investigations involving Nigerians apprehended for drug trafficking. In August 2023, after the arrest of Zulaihat Adam, Binta Nasidi, and Rashidat Abdullahi in Jeddah, the NDLEA swiftly traced and detained their accomplices in Nigeria, dismantling the network that facilitated the operation”, he added.
In conclusion, the next few lines will be devoted to some information which serve as the scientifically verifiable body of evidence to back up our earliest claim that the activities of the NDLEA do also save lives of Nigerians. We will start by identifying the 7 ways drug addiction diminishes the life of the addicts.
(1) Addiction can take your money: It takes money every day, a few times a day or more, to keep up an addiction. Illegal drugs can be costly. Having to avoid symptoms of withdrawal and detox means having to stay high all day, which means a lot of money on drugs.
(2) Addiction can ruin your health: Addiction is a disease which affects mind, body, and spirit. Physical health deteriorates over time with addiction. Muscle strength, skin, teeth, veins, heart, liver, lungs- every part of the body can be hurt by addiction.
(3) Addiction can ruin your mind: Addiction primarily affects the brain, which then has an affect on the body. The entire brain is affected by addiction. Drugs change the way the brain operates and even changes the structure of the brain, causing damage to the brain cells.
(4) Addiction can change who you are: Addiction to drugs and alcohol changes your body, your mind, and everything about who you are. Some people are able to maintain their personality and appearances while they struggle with a life-threatening addiction. Most people experience changes in their morals, values, and perceptions, sometimes their personalities and everything else about their lives.
(5) Addiction can hurt other people: One of the worst parts of an addiction is the way that it hurts other people. Addiction is called a family disease because addiction does not only affect the addict. Addiction affects everyone involved.
(6) Addiction can put you in jail: Most of the drugs people get addicted to are illegal. Addiction is a desperate disease. In order to continue feeding an addiction, people are known to go to great, often illegal lengths, the least of which buying and possessing illicit substances. Gangs, drug dealing, prostitution, theft, and more are common experiences addicts have to get drugs and prepare their addiction. And lastly;
(7) Addiction can kill you: This is the hardest, most blatant truth about how addiction can ruin your life. Drugs and alcohol are dangerous substances which weaken the body, weaken the mind, and can cause overdose. Addiction is a progressive disease which can cause death. Source: Avalon Malibu.
The truth is that the quantum of arrests of drug traffickers and barons made so far by the NDLEA especially under the leadership of the charismatic retired but not tired Army General Mohammed Buba Marwa, have successfully saved millions of Nigerians from death.
This hidden gem that is associated with the counter-narcotic enforcements duties of NDLEA should be celebrated. We are grateful to Marwa and his staff for saving these millions of lives. Let us give NDLEA all the support that we can muster as individuals and as a collective.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the founder of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). He was a NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA *
