The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says it has dealt major blows to powerful drug networks operating across Nigeria and along international trafficking corridors, with its Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), warning that the fight against illicit drugs remains a long-term battle.
Marwa disclosed the development on Thursday at the Agency’s 12th Chairman/CEO’s Commendations and Awards Ceremony in Abuja, where 274 personnel, 18 commands and 19 civil society and media organisations were honoured for their contributions to the drug war.
Highlighting some of the Agency’s major recent operations, Marwa said NDLEA had dismantled the Amadi Simon drug cartel, taken down two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating from forests in Ogun and Oyo States, and disrupted a major tramadol cartel exploiting the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria trafficking corridor.
According to him, the operations were not routine raids but the result of sustained intelligence gathering, cross-border cooperation and the determination of officers to penetrate territories where drug traffickers believed they were beyond the reach of law enforcement.
“These were not simple raids. They were the product of patient intelligence-gathering, cross-border cooperation, and officers willing to go where the criminals believed no one would follow,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA boss, however, warned that dismantling one cartel does not mean the end of the threat, as new networks are likely to emerge and traffickers will continue searching for alternative routes.
He described the drug war as a “generational responsibility”, urging officers and personnel to remain resilient and maintain operational pressure.
“The war against illicit drugs is not a campaign with an end date. It is a generational responsibility. For every cartel we dismantle, intelligence tells us another will attempt to rise. For every corridor we shut down, traffickers will search for another route.”
Marwa also stressed that enforcement alone cannot defeat drug abuse and illicit trafficking, noting that civil society organisations and the media play a critical role in prevention, public awareness and rehabilitation.
He said NGOs continue to work within communities to help young people at risk of addiction, while journalists have brought public attention to trafficking networks, rehabilitation efforts and the experiences of families affected by substance abuse.
According to him, the Agency’s recognition of its partners is therefore aimed at strengthening the wider coalition against drugs.
The NDLEA Chairman said the 12th awards ceremony was “the beginning of a tradition, not a closed chapter,” assuring that more individuals and organisations contributing to the campaign would be recognised in subsequent editions.
He urged the award recipients to see the recognition as a motivation to do more, rather than a reason to rest on their achievements.
The ceremony also provided an opportunity to honour families of personnel and partners who continue to support the Agency, as Marwa thanked Nigerians for their confidence in the NDLEA and its ongoing efforts to curb drug trafficking and substance abuse.