Nigeria vows stronger, tech-driven fight against drugs
Abdullateef Fowewe
President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to curbing substance abuse and dismantling illicit drug networks through innovative, evidence-based strategies, urging a whole-of-society response and stepped-up law enforcement, intelligence, border security and technology.
Speaking in Abuja at the 2026 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking through the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, the President praised the leadership and rank-and-file of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for their “courage, professionalism and decisive operational successes” against drug cartels.
NDLEA chairman Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.) told the gathering that, in the past 18 months, the agency arrested 29,262 suspects, seized 5.3 million kilograms of illicit drugs with an estimated street value of more than ₦1.5 trillion, and secured 5,225 convictions.
Marwa also said NDLEA has dismantled several major international syndicates — including reported Nigerian–Mexican methamphetamine cartels and that 234 alleged drug barons were arrested over the past five years.
Marwa further highlighted the agency’s stepped-up prevention and treatment work under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign: nearly five million Nigerians reached through awareness activities, and 13,508 drug users provided counselling and rehabilitation across 31 treatment centres.
President Tinubu urged parents, schools, religious leaders, the media, the private sector and international partners to strengthen collaboration to protect young Nigerians from drugs, reiterating his administration’s zero tolerance for organised crime and reaffirming support for technology-led, intelligence-driven enforcement.
The event included a lecture by Professor Oluwatoyin Odeku, who commended NDLEA’s achievements over five years, praise from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime for Nigeria’s balanced drug-control approach, and the presentation of cash prizes and trophies to three students who won the NDLEA national essay competition.
