President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
His renewed tenure will see him lead the NDLEA until 2031.
A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he has held several strategic positions, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade; Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma; academic registrar of the NDA; Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; and Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
He holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
Marwa’s tenure at the NDLEA has been marked by major breakthroughs, including the arrest of more than 73,000 drug traffickers and barons and the seizure of over 15 million kilograms of illicit substances. Under his leadership, the agency has also intensified nationwide campaigns against drug abuse.
President Tinubu, in reaffirming his confidence in the NDLEA boss, said, “Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your tireless efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse.
“I urge you not to relent in tracking down the merchants of hard drugs out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”
In other news, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Tuesday confirmed it is working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the cartel responsible for the importation of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine seized at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port, Lagos.
According to Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA, the shipment was discovered in an empty container over the weekend by port operators, who alerted NDLEA, Customs, and other security stakeholders.
Preliminary field tests by NDLEA confirmed the contents as cocaine, after which the consignment was formally placed under NDLEA custody on 11 November 2025.
The handover followed coordination between NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), and Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi.
Brigadier General Marwa noted the significance of the seizure, valued at over $235 million (approximately N338 billion) on the international market, and emphasised the need for global cooperation.
“The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned and every gap is sufficiently covered so that ultimately we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book wherever they are located across the globe,” he said, adding that the joint investigation reflects direct engagement with the Customs leadership.
