The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has charged investigators and prosecutors of the Agency to go beyond the arrest of drug traffickers and seizure of narcotics by tracing and recovering the illicit wealth sustaining criminal networks.
Marwa said the war against drug trafficking could no longer be won through arrests and drug seizures alone, stressing the need to dismantle the financial structures that make the illicit trade profitable.
He spoke on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in Abuja while declaring open an Advanced Capacity Building Programme on Financial Investigations, Asset Tracing, Forfeiture, Recovery and Management of the Proceeds and Instrumentalities of Narcotics Trafficking and Related Organised Crime.
The NDLEA boss described drug trafficking as fundamentally an economic enterprise sustained by financiers, facilitators, money launderers and professional enablers who often remain behind the movement of illicit drugs.
“If we arrest the courier but leave the financier untouched, seize the drugs but allow the proceeds to remain with the criminal enterprise, or secure a conviction without recovering the illicit wealth, we have addressed only part of the problem,” he said.
Marwa said organised criminal groups were increasingly exploiting technology, cryptocurrencies, complex corporate structures and legitimate businesses to conceal the ownership and origins of illicit wealth.
He therefore urged NDLEA investigators and prosecutors to develop the capacity to analyse complex financial transactions, trace assets across borders, establish beneficial ownership, exploit digital evidence and build strong financial cases capable of supporting forfeiture and recovery.
According to him, the Agency’s next imperative, following its progress in narcotics seizures and prosecution of traffickers, is to dismantle the economic foundations of the drug trade and make trafficking a high-risk, low-profit enterprise.
“The sophistication of organised crime demands a corresponding sophistication in our response. We must move from crime detection to crime disruption; from arresting offenders to dismantling criminal enterprises; and from confiscating drugs to depriving traffickers of the wealth that motivates and sustains their activities,” Marwa said.
He noted that the drug trafficking ecosystem increasingly intersects with money laundering, corruption, cybercrime, human trafficking, illicit arms trafficking and other forms of organised crime, making sustained cooperation among law enforcement and justice institutions essential.
Marwa also called for stronger collaboration among the NDLEA’s intelligence, investigation, prosecution, forensic, asset and financial investigation directorates, describing them as interconnected parts of a single enforcement chain.
He stressed that the various units must work as one Agency rather than in isolation, while also strengthening collaboration with sister agencies and other institutions involved in the criminal justice system.
Representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and judges of the Federal High Court participated in the programme.
The NDLEA chairman further warned that asset recovery should not end with seizure or forfeiture, noting that poor management and lack of transparency could diminish the value of recovered assets and weaken public confidence in the process.
He called for accountability from the point of seizure through forfeiture, management and eventual realisation of recovered assets.
Marwa urged participants to treat the programme as more than a routine training, charging them to translate the knowledge gained into coordinated action and share it across the Agency.
He expressed confidence that the training would strengthen the capacity of NDLEA personnel to “follow the money”, identify illicit assets, strengthen evidence, secure forfeiture and preserve the value of recovered assets.
Federal High Court Backs Stronger Collaboration
In a goodwill message delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo on behalf of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, the Chief Judge commended Marwa for the strides recorded by the NDLEA under his leadership.
Tsoho said stronger collaboration between the Federal High Court, NDLEA and other law enforcement agencies would enhance Nigeria’s standing in the international community.
He described the focus of the programme as timely, particularly given the increasingly sophisticated nature of drug-related crimes, financial investigations and cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering.
The Chief Judge noted that the expanding and multifaceted nature of drug crimes required equally sophisticated responses from law enforcement and justice institutions.
He commended Marwa’s leadership of the NDLEA and expressed the view that closer collaboration between the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, particularly the NDLEA, would strengthen Nigeria’s law enforcement system and improve its standing internationally.
Theresa Moses