Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 1.3 billion pills of tramadol and 4.4 million bottles of codeine in just 18 months, a record-setting haul that shows both the scale of the country’s drug problem and the government’s efforts to confront it.
Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retired), the NDLEA’s chairman, revealed the figures on Tuesday during a two-day government-citizens’ engagement forum in Kaduna.
He described the seizures as unprecedented and warned that the illegal trade in narcotics continues to pose grave public health and security threats.
“A pill of tramadol now sells for about 1,000 naira,” Marwa said. “The street value of one billion pills could approach one trillion naira. Imagine the kind of weapons terrorists or bandits could buy with that amount of money or the devastation if such quantities were on our streets.”
Since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, the NDLEA has confiscated a staggering 5,555 tons of illicit substances, the equivalent of 200 trailer loads, according to Marwa. The agency has also arrested 2,000 suspected traffickers, secured 8,682 convictions, and overseen the rehabilitation of more than 24,000 individuals struggling with addiction.
“These achievements were possible with the unwavering support of President Tinubu,” Marwa said, noting that the agency has stepped up advocacy efforts nationwide. Campaigns now reach schools, motor parks, churches, mosques, and marketplaces in an attempt to curb demand as well as supply.
In addition to enforcement, the NDLEA has expanded its rehabilitation services. The agency currently operates 30 centers across the country, but Marwa announced that Tinubu had approved the construction of seven new ones, ensuring at least one in every state. Plans are also underway for a modern rehabilitation facility in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, a move the NDLEA hopes to initiate later this year.
Marwa linked the crackdown and rehabilitation drive to the administration’s broader “Renewed Hope Agenda,” which he said aims to tackle the underlying causes of substance abuse, including poverty, unemployment, and idleness.
“This fight is not only about confiscating drugs,” he said. “It is also about addressing the conditions that make young people vulnerable to addiction in the first place.”
The NDLEA chairman lauded the governments of Kwara and Kaduna States for their “proactive and pragmatic” approaches to combating drug abuse and urged other states to adopt similar measures. But he cautioned that government efforts alone would not be enough.
“We cannot leave the fight against drug abuse to the government; it begins with parenting and family. Communities, traditional rulers, churches, and mosques must all get involved. We want drug education introduced into the primary school curriculum, so our children grow up informed and resilient.”, he said.
As seizures mount, the NDLEA continues to frame drug abuse not just as a health issue but as a threat to Nigeria’s social fabric and national security, a fight, Marwa insisted, that will require collective effort across all sectors of society.