July 8 (THEWILL) — The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking cartels across the country as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed that it seized illicit drugs worth over ₦1.5 trillion and arrested 29,262 suspects in the last 18 months.
The renewed commitment was made on Wednesday at the opening of the National Drug Use Summit in Abuja, where the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu would continue to support initiatives aimed at preventing illicit drug use, disrupting trafficking networks, expanding access to treatment and rehabilitation, and promoting the well-being of Nigerians.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr. Adamu Ibrahim Kana, Akume said no nation could achieve sustainable development while its youth remained vulnerable to substance abuse and addiction or while criminal drug syndicates continued to undermine national institutions.
“On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I reaffirm our unwavering commitment to every initiative aimed at preventing illicit drug use, dismantling trafficking networks, expanding access to treatment and rehabilitation, and promoting the well-being of all Nigerians,” he said.
The summit, themed “Addressing Illicit Drug Use and Trafficking: A Call to National Action,” was jointly organised by the NDLEA, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Akume described the gathering as a timely opportunity to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders and develop coordinated strategies to tackle the country’s growing drug challenge.
He said the Tinubu administration, under its Renewed Hope Agenda, was focused on building resilient communities, promoting mental health, empowering young people, and strengthening institutions responsible for addressing emerging social challenges.
In his welcome address, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), said that although the agency had recorded significant successes in combating drug trafficking and reducing drug demand, the scale of the challenge required a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.
According to him, the summit was convened to build consensus around a coordinated National Action Plan that would strengthen prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, policy implementation, data collection, and community resilience.
Marwa disclosed that between January 2025 and June 2026, the NDLEA arrested 29,262 drug suspects, seized 5,305,484.88 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs valued at over ₦1.5 trillion, dismantled several trafficking networks, and secured the conviction of 5,225 offenders nationwide.
He said the agency also intensified preventive interventions through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting 6,645 sensitisation and awareness programmes in schools, markets, workplaces, worship centres, correctional facilities, and communities across the country.
The NDLEA boss said the campaign had equipped nearly five million Nigerians with the knowledge and life skills needed to resist drug abuse.
Marwa further revealed that 13,508 people suffering from substance use disorders received counselling, treatment, and rehabilitation through the agency’s 31 rehabilitation centres nationwide during the same period.
He also highlighted the launch of the Alternative Development Initiative for Cannabis Sativa Growers, designed to support farmers willing to transition from illicit cannabis cultivation to legitimate cash crop production and other sustainable means of livelihood.
Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, urged stakeholders to ensure that the summit produced practical outcomes rather than ending as another policy dialogue.
“The measure of this summit will not be the communiqué. It will be the number of young people who choose not to start drugs.
“ It will be the number of patients who sleep without pain. It will be the number of families restored,” Pate said, pledging the ministry’s commitment to leading and coordinating national efforts against substance abuse.
Speaking on behalf of the UNODC Country Representative, Mr. Cheikh Toure, Dr. Akanidomo Ibanga commended Nigeria’s collaborative approach to addressing drug-related challenges and reaffirmed the United Nations’ support for a comprehensive, balanced, and evidence-based response.
He said the evolving nature of drug use, including the emergence of new psychoactive substances, required urgent, coordinated, and sustained interventions anchored on the National Drug Control Master Plan.
The summit attracted participants from relevant ministries, departments, and agencies, the military, security organisations, development partners, non-governmental organisations, and civil society groups, all seeking to strengthen Nigeria’s national response to illicit drug use and trafficking.
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