Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) has called on officers and men of the Agency to remain resilient, saying the fight against illicit drugs is a generational responsibility. Speaking on Thursday, 13th August 2026, at the 12th Chairman/Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations and Awards ceremony in Abuja, Marwa noted that “for every cartel we dismantle, another will attempt to rise,” stressing that the work has no end date.
At the ceremony, the NDLEA boss honoured 274 personnel for outstanding performance, 18 best-performing commands, and 19 NGOs and media organisations for their role in WADA advocacy. He said enforcement alone cannot win the war, and credited NGOs for walking young people back from addiction in communities, and journalists for telling difficult stories on trafficking routes, rehabilitation and family recovery. Marwa also highlighted key operations in the past year, including the dismantling of the Amadi Simon cartel, the busting of two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartels in Ogun and Oyo forests, and the disruption of a tramadol cartel using the Togo–Benin–Nigeria corridor.
He urged awardees to see the recognition as a standard to surpass and partners in civil society and media to treat it as a call to do more. Describing the event as “the beginning of a tradition, not a closed chapter,” Marwa assured that subsequent editions will honour more individuals and groups. He congratulated all recipients and thanked their families and Nigerians for their continued support for the Agency.
