Amendment of NDLEA Act will enhance Drug War – Marwa

Innocent Raphael

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has said that the ongoing amendment of the NDLEA Act, when passed into law, will significantly boost the capability of the agency to curb the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.

Marwa stated this while making his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Drug Control meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

While acknowledging the funding challenge faced by the NDLEA in carrying out their operations, he revealed that the agency was looking forward to some positive developments that will lend impetus to the attainment of set objectives.

“One such is the amendment of the NDLEA Act, which will significantly enhance the organisational capability of our agency in drug supply reduction. The hearing of the amended bill is making progress in the National Assembly and we look forward to it scaling the final hurdles”, he told the gathering of stakeholders from Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as other local and international partners,” he said.

Marwa also applauded the tremendous work of the IMC in the implementation of the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) 2021-2025, as he noted that the collaboration from stakeholders towards achieving the stated goals of the NDCMP is also deserving of appreciation.

He further outlined some of the activities and achievements of NDLEA in 2023 in line with the national action plan on drug control.

“After taking stock of key programmes implemented across the strategic pillars in 2022 and 2023, I can say that we have recorded significant progress on the 4th National Plan (NDCMP 2021-2025) compared to previous ones. Under the Supply Reduction Pillar, our operations and offensive action led to the arrest of 13,664 drug traffickers, of whom 3, 412 have been convicted in 2023. We recorded the seizure of 1.61 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, and we carried out the destruction of 206.5 hectares of cannabis farms.

“In Drug Demand Reduction, we recorded the counselling and rehabilitation of 10,904 individuals. The implementation of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy across states, local government areas, wards, and communities boosted the attainment of some set targets under the Drug Demand Reduction Pillar.

“Ramping up our WADA sensitisation activities has enabled us to reach different target groups, and, by the same token, has facilitated the diffusion of shared ownership of the effort to curb the proliferation, trafficking and abuse of illicit substances in the country” he said.

“Marwa further mentioned some recent key strides by the agency including: Nigeria’s hosting of the 30th Conference of the Heads of Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa, HONLEA, in September 2023; commissioning of the NDLEA toll-free helpline, to link victims of drug abuse and care providers; and the Drug Prevention, Treatment and Care (DPTC) training for the Governors’ Spouses.

In his remarks, Country Representative, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Oliver Stolpe stated that the achievement over the past years in enhancing law enforcement, increasing accessibility to treatment and rolling out prevention, and recently including harm reduction and Alternative Development, are all milestones that the NDLEA has created.

He added the UNODC was grateful, and hopes Nigeria makes a great contribution to the world and inspires others in ways to take the fight against drug abuse to the next level.”

Also speaking, representative of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), Dr. Daniel Akwasi Amankwaah noted that the commission was excited about the NDLEA drug control master plan, as it encouraged other countries to develop their own master plans.

“I am glad to announce that of the 15 ECOWAS countries, 14 have developed their master plans. This is to say 99% of the countries have developed theirs and it is all thanks to the template of the NDLEA,” he said.