By our Reporter
Retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has issued a stern warning to drug traffickers, barons, and their cartels to abandon illicit trade or face harsher consequences during his newly confirmed tenure.
Marwa made the declaration while receiving the jubilant management staff, officers, and personnel of the agency at its National Headquarters in Abuja, who had gathered to welcome him following his reappointment by President Bola Tinubu for a second five-year term.
In a statement released by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi on Saturday, Marwa vowed that drug traffickers have not yet experienced the full force of the agency’s crackdown. “This second tenure will be hell and bleak for them,” he warned, adding, “Drugs shall not pass, in or out or within Nigeria.”
Highlighting the agency’s holistic approach, Marwa encouraged cannibis cultivators and others involved in illicit drug activities to pursue legitimate businesses, pointing to the establishment of the Alternative Development Unit. “We will support legal cultivation of crops that are safe and sustainable. But those who refuse will face arrests, asset confiscation, and imprisonment,” he stressed.
Marwa also reaffirmed NDLEA’s commitment to drug demand reduction programs, emphasizing prevention, sensitization, counseling, treatment, and rehabilitation at the agency’s 30 rehabilitation centers. He announced that seven additional centers will be established under the 2025 budget, ensuring every state has a facility.
He further commended the Minister of Education for adopting NDLEA’s recommendation to conduct drug tests on students entering tertiary institutions, enabling early intervention for those at risk of addiction.
