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, who first assumed office in January 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now continue to lead the anti-narcotics agency until 2031. His reappointment follows a period marked by extensive drug enforcement operations, major seizures, and nationwide anti-drug campaigns.
Before joining the NDLEA, Marwa chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020. He is widely regarded for transforming the agency and strengthening Nigeria’s fight against illicit drugs.
A retired military officer and former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he held key positions including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, academic registrar of the NDA, Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa also holds two advanced degrees; a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
During his first tenure at the NDLEA, the agency recorded notable achievements, including the arrest of over 73,000 drug traffickers and the seizure of more than 15 million kilogrammes of various illicit substances.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu praised Marwa’s commitment and urged him to intensify efforts to combat 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. I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones,” the President said.
The renewed mandate is expected to further strengthen the NDLEA’s capacity to confront Nigeria’s evolving drug challenges.
