By Deborah Nnamdi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed the appointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.
The announcement was made on November 14, 2025, through a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy. With the reappointment, Marwa will continue to lead the agency until 2031, ensuring continuity in Nigeria’s intensified campaign against drug trafficking and abuse.
Marwa, from Adamawa State, was first appointed NDLEA chairman by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021. Before then, he chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020. A retired military officer with an extensive service record, he previously governed Lagos and Borno States and held several key roles in the Nigerian Army, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade and Aide-de-Camp to former Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma. His international service includes postings as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
He holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University.
Since assuming office in 2021, Marwa has overseen major operational gains. The NDLEA has arrested more than 73,000 drug traffickers and barons and confiscated over 15 million kilogrammes of hard drugs. The agency has also spearheaded nationwide anti-drug campaigns targeting young people and vulnerable communities.
President Tinubu, praising these achievements, described the renewed mandate as a recognition of Marwa’s commitment to combating drug trafficking and abuse. “Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse,” he said, urging him to intensify efforts to protect young Nigerians.
The NDLEA, Nigeria’s federal agency responsible for curbing the cultivation, processing, sale, and trafficking of illicit drugs, recorded notable accomplishments in 2024 alone. These include the arrest of 18,500 suspects, seizure of 2.6 million kilograms of illicit substances, over 3,250 convictions—including 10 major drug barons—destruction of 220 hectares of cannabis farms, rehabilitation of 8,200 drug users, and more than 3,000 sensitisation activities nationwide.
Marwa credited the agency’s progress to support from international partners, particularly the United States, noting that such cooperation has strengthened NDLEA’s operational capacity.
