President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retired) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for a fresh five-year term. This development comes as the agency strengthens its maritime surveillance capabilities following specialized training in the United Kingdom.
Marwa's Reappointment Receives Acclaim
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, officially announced Marwa's reappointment in a statement released on Friday. The president expressed confidence in Marwa's ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria.
Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse, the presidential statement noted. It further urged Marwa not to relent in tracking merchants of hard drugs targeting Nigerian youth.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun enthusiastically welcomed the reappointment, describing it as a vote for competence, integrity, patriotism and excellence in public service. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the governor highlighted Marwa's exceptional performance record.
Landmark Achievements Under Marwa's Leadership
Governor Abiodun detailed the significant accomplishments achieved during Marwa's first tenure, including:
- Arrest of over 73,000 drug traffickers and barons
- Seizure of more than 15 million kilogrammes of various hard drugs
- Conviction of over 12,000 drug barons
- Counselling and rehabilitation of more than 8,200 drug users
The governor praised Marwa for launching nationwide anti-drug abuse campaigns, strengthening cross-border cooperation, and transforming NDLEA into a model of accountability and public service. He emphasized that the reappointment represents great news for Nigeria's safety and security against narcotics activities.
Enhanced Maritime Operations Capacity
Concurrently, NDLEA has significantly boosted its maritime surveillance and interdiction capabilities following a strategic training program in the United Kingdom. According to NDLEA's Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, a six-man team led by Deputy Commander Narcotics Aminu Danjuma Jega underwent specialized training between October 19 and 25, 2025.
The training, conducted under the guidance of Mr. Errol Flynn Macdonald of the UK Home Office International Operations, exposed NDLEA officers to international best practices in maritime intelligence, port security, and inter-agency coordination. The team visited key British maritime and border enforcement facilities, including:
- UK Border Force facilities
- National Crime Agency (NCA)
- Home Office Intelligence centers
- National Maritime Security Centre
- Joint Maritime Security Centre in Portsmouth
The officers witnessed live demonstration sessions at Tilbury and Felixstowe Ports, where inward-bound containers from Nigeria underwent layered inspection and risk-based screening procedures.
Advanced Technology Integration
A key highlight of the training involved the introduction and demonstration of the Advanced Sea Searcher System, a state-of-the-art underwater detection technology used for locating concealed contraband beneath ships and port structures. This technology represents a potential game-changer for NDLEA's operations along Nigeria's coastal and port environments.
Between November 10 and 13, 2025, an additional 19 NDLEA officers received Advanced Container Targeting training in Lagos, sponsored by the UK Home Office International Operations.
In his post-training presentation to Marwa, team leader Aminu Danjuma Jega noted that the international exposure deepened his team's understanding of intelligence-led maritime enforcement and would enhance operational synergy with other Nigerian maritime and security agencies.
Marwa commended the officers for representing Nigeria effectively during the training and reaffirmed the agency's commitment to continuous capacity building and adoption of cutting-edge technologies. Maritime routes remain critical in global drug trafficking networks, Marwa stated, emphasizing that strengthening officers' technical capacity is essential to safeguarding Nigeria's borders.
The NDLEA boss pledged to deepen collaboration with the UK Home Office International Operations and other global law enforcement partners as part of ongoing efforts to combat transnational organized crime linked to illicit drugs.
