The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested 38,242 suspected drug offenders, seized over 5.8 million kilograms of illicit drugs valued at more than N2.5 trillion, and secured 6,232 convictions between January 2025 and September 2026.
According to a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Tuesday, the agency disclosed these figures while presenting Nigeria’s drug control reforms at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), represented by the agency’s Secretary, Shadrach Haruna, said Nigeria had transformed its drug control architecture from a mainly enforcement-focused system to an integrated, intelligence-led, and people-centred approach.
The presentation was delivered under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.”
Marwa said the changing nature of drug trafficking, the growing use of technology by criminal networks, and the rapid movement of illicit proceeds across borders had made a broader strategy necessary to tackle the drug trade.
“Trafficking networks have become more sophisticated, technology has opened new channels for illicit activity, criminal proceeds move rapidly across borders, and drug dependence continues to affect individuals, families and communities,” he said.
He added that Nigeria had therefore expanded its focus beyond drug seizures and arrests to target the criminal networks, illicit profits, and vulnerabilities sustaining the drug economy.
The NDLEA boss also disclosed that more than 16,303 people received counselling, treatment, or rehabilitation during the period, while the agency’s prevention and sensitisation campaigns reached millions of Nigerians.
He said the agency was increasingly prioritising the dismantling of major trafficking organisations and their financial networks, rather than measuring performance only by the number of arrests and seizures recorded.
Marwa also highlighted the NDLEA’s Alternative Development initiative, which is being piloted in three communities in Ondo State to support residents moving from illicit cannabis cultivation to legitimate agricultural production.
According to him, sustainable drug control requires providing affected communities with viable economic alternatives that promote food security, strengthen community resilience, and improve national security.
He cited the agency’s Drug Integrity Test and Visa E-Administration System as examples of how digital solutions could improve transparency, accessibility, efficiency and integrity in public administration.
Marwa said the reforms were being consolidated under the National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, which covers six pillars: reducing drug supply, reducing drug demand, improving access to controlled medicines, strengthening governance and coordination, developing alternatives, and disrupting the illicit drug economy.
At the UN General Assembly, Nigeria called for stronger international intelligence-sharing to stop criminal networks from exploiting jurisdictional gaps.
The country also urged member states to intensify efforts to combat illicit financial flows through financial investigations, asset tracing and recovery, while strengthening prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes alongside law enforcement.
Nigeria further called for expanded support for alternative development programmes, improved capacity-building for law enforcement officers, and increased investment in institutions, particularly in developing countries.
Marwa said such investments should cover technology, training, forensic capabilities, treatment infrastructure, and sustained technical assistance to help countries respond effectively to increasingly sophisticated drug-trafficking networks.
He described Nigeria’s experience as an ongoing process rather than a finished model, and said the country was ready to share lessons, learn from other nations, and collaborate with the United Nations and international partners.
He said sustained international cooperation was necessary to translate commitments into implementation, collective action and measurable results in the global fight against illicit drugs.
