National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 62,595 drug suspects and convicted 11,628 offenders across Nigeria between January 2021 and March, this year, its Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, has said.
He made this known yesterday during the opening ceremony of a national conference organised for the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses in Abuja.
The event, themed “Advanced Training on Drug Prevention Treatment and Care (DPTC) Stage 3 and Effective Management of the State Drug Control Committee”, was held, in collaboration with the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum.
According to Marwa, the arrests include 68 drug barons, while the agency seized a staggering 10,317,137.55 kilograms of various illicit substances and destroyed 1,330.56553 hectares of cannabis farms during the period under review.
“Over the past four years, the NDLEA has pursued its mission with renewed and unwavering zeal, ensuring Nigeria’s drug control efforts are not only sustained but significantly expanded,” Marwa said.
He emphasised the agency’s balanced approach, combining drug supply reduction with aggressive drug demand reduction strategies in line with global best practices.
“In the same period, 24,375 drug users received counselling and treatment at NDLEA facilities through brief interventions. Additionally, 10,501 drug sensitisation programmes were conducted nationwide under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign,” he noted.
These programmes, Marwa said, reached over 3.8 million Nigerians across various communities, with a focus on vulnerable groups, including youths and the marginalised.
He stressed the importance of prevention and community engagement in tackling the drug menace, urging stakeholders to adopt practical and culturally relevant solutions.
“However dark the hour, we must not surrender to despair,” Marwa said. “It falls on us to strengthen our resolve and take deliberate steps toward ending the vicious cycle of drug abuse.”
The NDLEA boss described the capacity-building as a critical move toward developing community-centred responses to the growing drug crisis.