President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reappointed Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The new term will run for another five years, extending his leadership of the agency until 2031.
Marwa first took charge of the NDLEA in January 2021 after he was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Before then, he served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020. According to Mediaplusng.com, his reappointment signals continued confidence in his reforms and strong anti-drug war.
A retired military officer from Adamawa State, Marwa has a long record of public service. He attended the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), before his commissioning as a second lieutenant in 1973. Over the years, he served as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, and later as academic registrar of the NDA. He also worked as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and later as Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa also governed Lagos and Borno States during his military career. Academically, he holds a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
His leadership at the NDLEA has reshaped Nigeria’s fight against drug abuse and trafficking. The agency records over 73,000 arrests of drug traffickers and major barons, as well as seizures of more than 15 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs. The NDLEA, under his watch, has also intensified nationwide campaigns and community outreach to curb drug abuse among young people. Mediaplusng.com reports that these achievements have strengthened the agency’s visibility and public trust.
President Tinubu praises Marwa for his performance and urges him to remain firm in the fight against drug cartels.
In the President’s words: “Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your 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 who seek to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”
