The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.), has urged officers and men of the agency to remain resilient, saying the fight against illicit drugs is a generational responsibility that requires sustained commitment.

Marwa gave the charge yesterday in Abuja at the 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards ceremony, where 274 personnel, 18 commands and 19 civil society and media organisations were recognised for their contributions to the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

Speaking at the event held at the agency’s national headquarters, Marwa said the persistent and evolving nature of the drug problem meant that the NDLEA could not afford to relent in its efforts.
“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 said.

He noted that the fight could not be won through enforcement alone, stressing the importance of the contributions of civil society organisations and the media in preventing drug abuse and supporting affected communities.
According to him, NGOs play a crucial role in communities by helping young people avoid or overcome substance abuse, while journalists have continued to expose the realities of drug trafficking, rehabilitation and the struggles of families affected by addiction.

“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 choose to tell the difficult stories,” Marwa said.

He added that civil society groups and the media had become a “multiplier effect” for the agency’s efforts by taking anti-drug messages into homes, schools and communities that government enforcement agencies could not reach alone.

Marwa said the awards were not intended to suggest that those recognised were the only individuals or organisations contributing to the campaign, describing the ceremony as “the beginning of a tradition, not a closed chapter.”
He assured that subsequent editions would identify and recognise more individuals, organisations and media platforms contributing to the fight against drug abuse.

Highlighting some of the agency’s recent operations, Marwa cited the dismantling of the Amadi Simon drug cartel, the disruption of two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels operating in forests in Ogun and Oyo states, and the dismantling of a tramadol cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
He said the corridor had for years been exploited to supply opioids that contributed to substance abuse among Nigerian youths.

“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,” he said.

The NDLEA chief urged personnel to regard the award recipients as examples to emulate rather than as a limit to their own achievements.
He similarly challenged civil society organisations and media practitioners to see the recognition as an encouragement to deepen their contributions rather than as a reason to rest on their achievements.

Marwa congratulated the award recipients and commended their families for the sacrifices made in support of their work. He also thanked Nigerians for their continued confidence in the agency as it battles drug trafficking and substance abuse across the country.