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 a second five-year term, extending his leadership of the anti-narcotics agency until 2031.
The announcement was made in a release signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Marwa, who first assumed office in January 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, previously served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020. His renewed tenure underscored the administration’s confidence in his efforts to combat drug trafficking and reduce substance abuse nationwide.
A retired military officer and seasoned administrator, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he went on to serve in various high-profile military and diplomatic roles, 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 Nigerian Defence Academy; and Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C. He later became Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa also holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
Under his leadership, the NDLEA has recorded unprecedented successes in its relentless campaign against drug cartels. The agency has arrested more than 73,000 drug traffickers and barons and seized over 15 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs. It has also rolled out nationwide advocacy and sensitisation programmes to curb rising drug abuse, particularly among young Nigerians.
President Tinubu praised Marwa’s record and urged him to sustain the momentum. “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.
