By Felix Mbata, Lagos state
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), has charged officers and men of the anti-narcotics agency to remain resilient, warning that the war against illicit drugs is a “generational responsibility” that demands unrelenting commitment.
Marwa gave the charge on Thursday, 13th August 2026, during the 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards Ceremony held at the Agency’s national headquarters in Abuja, where 274 NDLEA personnel were honoured for outstanding performance. Also recognised were 18 best-performing commands, as well as 19 NGOs and media organisations for their dedication to the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy across Nigeria.
Addressing the gathering, the NDLEA boss said the fight against drug trafficking is far from over and will continue to evolve.
“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,” he stated.
He explained that enforcement alone cannot secure victory, noting that NGOs work quietly within communities to walk young people back from the edge of addiction, while journalists tell the difficult stories of trafficking routes, rehabilitation, and families rebuilding.
“The fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse was never going to be won by enforcement alone. It is won in the communities where NGOs quietly walk young people back from the edge of addiction. It is won in the newsrooms where journalists chose to tell the difficult stories. Our partners in civil society and the media have been the multiplier effect on everything this Agency does. You have taken our message into homes, schools, and communities that our uniforms alone could never reach,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA Chairman cited recent operations that reflect the Agency’s resolve, including the dismantling of the Amadi Simon drug cartel, the takedown of two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating within forests in Ogun and Oyo States, and the disruption of a tramadol cartel exploiting the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor, a route he said had for years fueled a crisis of opioid abuse among Nigerian youth. He described these successes as the product of patient intelligence-gathering, cross-border cooperation, and officers willing to go where criminals believed no one would follow.
Marwa urged the honourees to see the awards as a standard to reach for rather than a ceiling to stop at, and charged civil society and media partners to view their recognition as an invitation to do more.
He acknowledged that many more deserving organisations and media platforms exist nationwide, describing the expanded honours as “the beginning of a tradition, not a closed chapter,” and assured that subsequent editions will continue to identify and celebrate more stakeholders.
The NDLEA boss congratulated all recipients and thanked their families, as well as Nigerians who continue to place their trust in the Agency.