NDLEA Arrests Over 62,000 Drug Suspects, Secures 11,628 Convictions in Four Years – Buba Marwa
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested 62,595 drug suspects and secured 11,628 convictions between January 2021 and March 2025 across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the opening ceremony of a conference for the Nigeria Governors Spouses, organized in collaboration with the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum.
The event, themed “Advanced Training on Drug Prevention Treatment and Care (DPTC) Stage 3 and Effective Management of the State Drug Control Committee,” was aimed at strengthening community-based drug prevention and treatment strategies.
Marwa noted that the agency had been unrelenting in its fight against drug abuse and trafficking over the past four years, investing substantial resources in drug supply and demand reduction efforts.
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“As part of our drug supply reduction efforts—covering seizures, arrests, prosecutions, and convictions—we recorded 62,595 arrests, including 68 identified drug barons,” he said. “We also seized over 10.3 million kilograms of various illicit drugs and destroyed 1,330.57 hectares of cannabis farms.”
In parallel, Marwa said the NDLEA has also prioritized drug demand reduction to ensure a holistic approach to tackling substance abuse, in line with global best practices.
“Between January 2021 and March 2025, a total of 24,375 drug users received counselling and treatment at NDLEA facilities, mainly through brief interventions,” he said.
In addition, the agency organized 10,501 sensitization campaigns nationwide under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, directly engaging nearly 3.8 million Nigerians from various communities and social groups.
The NDLEA chief emphasized the importance of prevention, particularly among youth and vulnerable populations.
“We believe that strategic prevention initiatives are essential to reducing risk factors and strengthening protective measures against substance abuse,” he said.
He called on stakeholders to take ownership of the fight against drug abuse, stressing that community-level interventions are critical to breaking the cycle of addiction and its consequences.
“However difficult the challenge, we must not succumb to despair. We must act with resolve and unity to create lasting solutions that address not just the statistics, but the human suffering caused by drug abuse,” Marwa concluded.
By PRNigeria
