Category: NDLEA

Marwa Unveils Aggressive 2026 Strategy to Dismantle Drug Cartels

Khadijat Shidali Ajechi

NDLEA boss, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has issued a stern warning to drug traffickers, declaring that 2026 will leave no room for their operations as the agency moves to deepen its crackdown on illicit drug networks nationwide. The directive was contained in a statement released on Friday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Bafemi. According to the statement, Marwa spoke at the agency’s annual review and strategic planning meeting held at the NDLEA National Headquarters in Abuja. The high-level meeting was attended by members of…

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NDLEA Arrests Wanted Drug Kingpin ‘Kanmo-Kanmo’ After 12 Years on the Run

Khadijat Shidali Ajechi

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a notorious drug trafficker, Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” ending a 12-year manhunt linked to the killing of three NDLEA officers. Jimoh was arrested on Friday, January 16, 2026, at his hideout in Owode, Ogun State, following credible intelligence. During the operation, NDLEA officers recovered 69 kilograms of skunk, a type of cannabis, from him. Kanmo-Kanmo had been on the run since June 15, 2014, when he led a violent attack on NDLEA officers who attempted to arrest…

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“NDLEA Busts Cocaine Ship, Coffee-Sachet Drug Smuggling, Arrests ‘Mama Kerosine’”

Khadijat Shidali Ajechi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drugs hidden in coffee sachets and detained 22 Indian crew members over a large cocaine shipment, as nationwide raids uncovered huge consignments of opioids and cannabis. NDLEA said its operatives seized ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol pills concealed in coffee mix sachets and book parcels bound for Zambia and the United Kingdom. The interceptions were made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025. The agency also arrested 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV…

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Marwa Pushes for National Unity, Says Diversity Is Nigeria’s Greatest Asset

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has called on Nigerians to treat the country’s diversity as a valuable national asset that must be protected. Delivering the keynote address at the public unveiling of Buni Boy, a book written by the late legal scholar Niyi Ayoola-Daniels, in Abuja on Saturday, Marwa said Nigeria’s differences should be seen as a unifying force rather than a burden. Marwa noted that the book’s message reflects the Nigeria he experienced growing up a society where people…

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NDLEA Crushes Major Drug Syndicate in Lagos, Seizes N6.7bn Opioids, Arrests Kingpin, Five Others

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug cartels, dismantling a major opioid network in Lagos and seizing illicit substances valued at over N6.7 billion. The operation also led to the arrest of alleged drug baron Onyekachi Pius Nwanagu and five members of his group, marking one of the agency’s biggest breakthroughs in recent years. Acting on credible intelligence that the syndicate was preparing to distribute more than 7.2 million tramadol pills and over 526,000 bottles of codeine syrup ahead…

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NDLEA Tightens Grip on Seaports, Confiscates Brazil Vessel With Cocaine

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted another Brazil-bound shipment of cocaine, detaining a vessel and its 20 Filipino crew members just six months after 10 Thai sailors were convicted for a similar offence. NDLEA officers at Lagos’ Apapa seaport uncovered 20 kilograms of cocaine hidden beneath the cargo of MV Nord Bosporus (IMO 9760110), which arrived from the port of Santos, Brazil. The discovery was made on Sunday, November 16, 2025. The Agency immediately arrested the ship’s Master, Captain Quino Eugene Corpus, along…

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“My Second Term Will Bring Ruthless Pressure on Drug Syndicates” — Marwa

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi The Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has cautioned drug kingpins, traffickers, and their networks to immediately abandon the illegal drug trade or brace for even tougher enforcement actions during his second term in office. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu renewed Marwa’s appointment for another five-year tenure on Friday, November 14, 2025. Shortly after the announcement, jubilant NDLEA staff gathered at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja to welcome him, where he vowed to intensify the fight…

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Tinubu endorses Marwa’s work, prolongs NDLEA tenure to 2031

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi President Bola Tinubu has extended Mohammed Buba Marwa’s tenure as chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five years. Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, announced that the renewal means Marwa will continue to lead the NDLEA until 2031. Marwa, a former Lagos military governor, was first appointed in January 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari after heading the presidential advisory committee on eliminating drug abuse from 2018 to 2020. While confirming the reappointment, Tinubu urged Marwa to…

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NDLEA Partners with US, UK Agencies to Track Cocaine Cartel Behind 1,000kg Seizure at Lagos Port

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has joined forces with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to uncover the syndicate responsible for importing 1,000 kilograms of cocaine discovered at the PTML Terminal, Tincan Island Port, Lagos. The PTML operators discovered the substance in an empty container last weekend and immediately alerted port authorities, including NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies, for a joint inspection. NDLEA field tests later confirmed the substance as cocaine, and the consignment…

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Marwa Sets Unmatched Record in NDLEA’s History — HURIWA

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By: Shidali Khadijat Ajechi The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has hailed Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) for leading the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) through its most outstanding and reform-driven period since the agency’s establishment in 1989. In a performance review, HURIWA said no previous NDLEA chairman has matched Marwa’s scale of achievements, momentum, and institutional transformation. Founded in 1989 and operational from 1990 under its first chairman, Fidelis Oyakhilome, the NDLEA experienced modest progress through successive administrations. However, HURIWA noted that the agency gained…

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