The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), has urged officers and men of the Agency to remain resilient, describing the fight against illicit drugs as a generational responsibility with no end date.
Marwa spoke on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at the 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards ceremony held at the NDLEA National Headquarters in Abuja.
The ceremony saw 274 personnel honoured for outstanding performance, alongside 18 best-performing commands and 19 non-governmental organisations and media platforms recognised for their contributions to the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.
Marwa said the persistent and evolving nature of the drug trade requires sustained commitment, intelligence and collaboration.
“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.”
The NDLEA Chairman stressed that the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse cannot be won through enforcement alone, noting that communities, civil society organisations and the media play critical roles in complementing the Agency’s efforts.
He said NGOs are helping young people recover from addiction and regain their lives, while journalists continue to expose the realities of drug trafficking, rehabilitation and the impact of substance abuse on families and communities.
According to him, the media and civil society have become a “multiplier effect” for the Agency by taking anti-drug messages into homes, schools and communities beyond the reach of law enforcement uniforms.
Marwa also acknowledged that many other organisations and media platforms across Nigeria are contributing to the fight and said the awards should be viewed as the beginning of a wider tradition of recognition.
He assured that subsequent editions would identify and honour more individuals and organisations making significant contributions to the anti-drug campaign.
Highlighting some of the Agency’s recent operations, Marwa cited the dismantling of the Amadi Simon drug cartel, the takedown of two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating in forests across Ogun and Oyo States, and the disruption of a tramadol cartel exploiting the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
He said the corridor had for years contributed to the opioid abuse crisis affecting young Nigerians.
“These were not simple raids,” Marwa said, explaining that the operations were the result of painstaking intelligence gathering, cross-border cooperation and the determination of officers to pursue criminals into areas where they believed they could operate undetected.
The NDLEA boss charged officers to regard the award recipients as a benchmark for excellence rather than a ceiling, urging them to strive for even greater achievements.
He also challenged civil society organisations and media partners to see the recognition as encouragement to intensify their contributions to the fight against drug abuse, rather than as a reason to relent.
Marwa congratulated all the award recipients and commended their families for their support, while also thanking Nigerians for their continued confidence in the Agency.
The 12th awards ceremony thus celebrated individual excellence and institutional performance, while reinforcing the NDLEA’s message that defeating drug trafficking and substance abuse will require sustained enforcement, community action, public awareness and long-term national commitment.