NDLEA Seizes Over 30 Tonnes of Drugs and Arrests 1,200 Suspects in Edo

(General Buba Marwa. Photo by Nigeria Waves)
The NDLEA, says it seized more than 30 tonnes of illegal drugs in Edo State in 2025 and arrested over 1,200 suspected traffickers.

The agency's Chairman and Chief Executive, Brigadier General Buba Marwa, retired, shared the figures on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the Oba of Benin at his palace in Benin City.

He was in Edo on an assessment visit to the NDLEA's state command and to speak at the Regimental Sergeant Majors Convention of the Nigerian Army.

Marwa described drug abuse as one of the biggest social problems in Nigeria.

He said more than 15 million Nigerians abuse drugs, a figure he put at three times the global average.

He said the agency's job is to enforce the law against trafficking and also to help addicts through counselling, treatment and rehabilitation.

He said the fight needs the whole of society to take part, including traditional rulers, churches, civil society groups, the government and the media.

He singled out traditional rulers, saying they command more respect than any other institution in Nigeria.

He thanked the Oba for his support on drug control and on other problems such as kidnapping and human trafficking.

Marwa also outlined a new approach called alternative development.

Under it, the agency encourages farmers who grow cannabis to switch to legal crops such as cassava, yam and maize.

He said some farmers have told the agency they welcome the change because cannabis farming keeps them on edge, always worried about NDLEA raids, even though it earns more money.

He said the approach is a first in Africa, and that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Federal Government have welcomed it.

A pilot has been launched in three communities in Ondo State, and it will soon be rolled out in Edo.

Oba Ewuare II praised the NDLEA for its work against illegal drugs.

He said he will send the agency chairman a proposal on how to tackle drug abuse.