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Some states have adopted drug tests for political office seekers —Marwa, NDLEA Chairman
The chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), is four years old in the saddle this week. In this interview conducted by LASISI OLAGUNJU, he gives very rare insight into the crime world of drug barons and agents. He speaks on almost all issues connected with drug cultivation and production; drug use and abuse, arrest and prosecution of culprits.
This week, it is exactly four years since you became chairman of the NDLEA. How easy has the job been?
I do not look for an easy job. Rather, I look for jobs that have to be done to make society better. From the first day I was appointed as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, I knew what I was coming into. I knew the magnitude of Nigeria’s drug abuse situation. The UNODC report on drug use survey in Nigeria had been published earlier. I knew the gravity of having such a high drug use prevalence. I had seen the ugly sides of drug dependence. And so, I understood the enormity of the task of sanitising the country.
Don’t forget that earlier, I was in PACEDA, that is, the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Eradication of Drug Abuse, as the chairman. For months, the committee travelled the length and breadth of this country and also consulted authorities outside the country. We plumbed the depths of the problem and worked out recommendations for turning around the NDLEA to spearhead efforts to tame the trafficking and abuse of illicit substances in the country. Every bit of the problem—the institutional aspect, the funding aspect, the legal dimension, the societal side of it, and what have you—was covered in the PACEDA blueprint.
Luckily, I was appointed NDLEA Chairman and CEO. In my inaugural address to the agency’s personnel, I said it was a herculean task. At the same time, I believed it was possible to achieve all the set objectives of turning around the agency and reversing the negative trend of illicit drug abuse and trafficking in the country. Yes, the road is bumpy, but we are not giving up on the reforms we have instituted. What is important is that we have the backing of the government, and our international partners rally to our cause. More importantly, society is accepting the changes we introduce. So, it is not an easy job, but we are getting it done.
In those four years, what would you describe as your greatest achievement?
The greatest achievement is that we have been able to bring the NDLEA back on its feet. Let me put it this way: as of 15 January 2021, the name NDLEA wouldn’t strike a chord with most Nigerians. Even well-meaning Nigerians who called to congratulate me when my appointment was announced mistook me for the DG of NAFDAC. Not many could quickly and accurately recall what NDLEA was all about. That speaks volumes about the state of an agency that had existed for 31 years at the time.
But today, the story is different. I think we are one of the most reported government agencies in the country, and the reports are positive. So, getting the agency working again is an achievement. The results are empirical; the performance is measurable. The arrests we made in the past four years surpassed previous records. All the metrics of performance of the past four years surpass those of the past 31 years. These metrics entail a lot: arrests, convictions, seizures, public destruction of seized drugs, support from international partners and donors, treatment and rehabilitation, catalysing social action, and so on.
As we discuss achievements, can you also tell us the hardest case you’ve handled since you came on board?
Well, all cases are relative. While I may not want to highlight a specific case, I would say that we don’t view cases in light of the personalities involved but rather by their complexity and the significance of the results. Therefore, we should be looking at cases with an international dimension, which often involve our international partners because they are usually linked to dismantling cartels and local syndicates.
As for the most difficult cases, we have our SOP guiding our operations, from intelligence to arrest and prosecution. The structures we have put in place make any operation easy and seamless, no matter how difficult it may appear.
We have recorded many significant cases in the past four years, such as the biggest cocaine seizure in Ikorodu Lagos, that was over 2.1 tons; the dismantling of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories, and the arrests of syndicates operating from Nigeria to countries in West Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The agency had never carried out any operations as large as these before. So, while we face challenges, there is no single “most difficult” case.
Criminal cultivation of Indian hemp has been with us since time immemorial, defying all official efforts to tame it. From your experience so far, sir, what do you think can be done to convince those who plant it to stop the cultivation?
Cannabis is one of the homegrown illicit drugs in Nigeria. It dominates our seizures every week. We have tried to clamp down on geographical locations where it is cultivated. We have ongoing operations to discover and destroy cannabis plantations deep in the rainforest regions of this country. In the past four years, we have destroyed hundreds of hectares of cannabis farms.
At the same time, we work assiduously to disrupt and dismantle the distribution network across the country. Similarly, we have provided counter-narratives to activists promoting the decriminalisation and legalisation of its cultivation and use. So, it is a hydra-headed problem that has to be tackled from many fronts.
Most importantly, the root cause must be addressed—taking those cultivating it out of the equation. That is easier said than done. To this end, we have adopted the Alternative Development (AD) programme, a standard approach to tackling the cultivation of illicit crops by providing profitable and sustainable alternatives to address the socio-economic situation of the people involved in this activity.
That is the long-term solution to the cultivation of cannabis. We have adopted this approach and, last year, held a summit. We also attended international workshops on Alternative Development. Our officers have travelled to the IITA in Ibadan and Thailand for study tours. We have been working with international partners to perfect the programme design. This year, we will commence the pilot implementation of this programme in Ondo State. We have the honour of being the first African country to pioneer Alternative Development and we have been rightly recognised so by the UNODC.
You make arrests almost every week. In which states of the federation are hemp growers most commonly found?
It might surprise you to know that we have discovered cannabis farms in virtually every state of the federation. Some people even grow it in their compounds and indoors.
Presently, the traditional cannabis cultivation states include Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Edo, and Delta. However, as I mentioned earlier, we have destroyed cannabis farms in Lagos, Enugu, Kogi, Cross River, Taraba, Kano, and even in the FCT, among other places across the country.
Abuse of cheap drugs like tramadol is closely linked with banditry and other violent crimes in the country. How much cooperation does the NDLEA have with agencies like NAFDAC to stem this tide?
We prioritise collaboration with partners, both domestic and international. Collaboration is one of the cornerstones of the National Drug Control Master Plan, NDCMP. This is essential because the illicit drug problem is multifaceted and requires a Whole-of-Society approach.
We strategically seek synergy with critical partners, among which is NAFDAC. To this end, we signed an MoU last year to further harmonise and strengthen our operations to present a united front and ensure more efficient drug control in the country. By the way, tramadol is no longer a cheap opioid because we have seriously decimated the capacity of those smuggling it in with back to back seizures of their consignments worth over N100 billion last year at the ports in Lagos, Onne in Rivers, the land borders and their warehouses and stores in Lagos.
Can you give us some figures on seizures made, prosecutions, and convictions of culprits?
In 2024, we recorded 17,670 arrests, including more than 10 drug barons, and secured 3,427 convictions in court, including two life sentences. Over the course of those 12 months, we seized 2, 726, 837.80kg of illicit drugs.
There have been cases of celebrities and pilgrims getting involved in drug smuggling. Do you have statistics on such categories of suspects nabbed by your agency and those arrested abroad?
We maintain a robust record of our activities, including arrests. We have directorates for Media, as well as Planning, Research, and Statistics. These ensure we keep a comprehensive database. Since 2022, we have also had access to the INTERPOL database, enabling us to process data more efficiently.
From our partners and anti-narcotic agencies in other countries, we receive reports of Nigerians arrested and prosecuted for drug offences. Don’t forget that we work in partnership with many of them in the areas of intelligence exchange and joint operations for the takedown of international syndicates, as well as prosecution and asset seizure. So, yes, we have records.
Finally, when are you going to commence drug tests for politicians seeking political office?
Drug Integrity Test is a policy aimed at the early detection of illicit drug abuse and the early treatment of drug dependence. It is not a punitive measure but rather a preventive one designed to maximise treatment and mitigate the onset of the consequences of drug abuse.
This policy is not limited to politicians or any particular social category. It is for everyone—politicians, civil servants, military personnel, students. Some government establishments have subscribed to the policy since 2021. Presently, some tertiary institutions have adopted the policy, incorporating it into their administrative processes and part of the requirements for admission. Interestingly, some states have also adopted it as a prerequisite for anyone aspiring to any political position and gradually that is gaining grounds with employers also requesting for same.
Eventually, as society becomes more aware of the need to reduce drug abuse to the barest minimum, the policy will gain widespread acceptance. That is why we are working to eradicate negative social constructs about illicit drug use, along with enabling factors such as discrimination and stigmatisation, which could deter people from seeking treatment.
The National Health and Drug Use Survey report 2018, conducted with the aid of UNODC, shows that young people are introduced to drug use between the ages of 17 and 19, and that those between 25 and 35 are the most frequent abusers. The majority of those in this age bracket are in tertiary institutions and are often helpless when it comes to seeking treatment to break the habit and dependence on substances of abuse.
The Drug Integrity Test makes it easier for individuals to access treatment in the nick of time, helping to save their future.
