The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd) has canvassed for a successful amendment of the NDLEA Act, adding that it will enhance the war against illicit drugs.
He made this known on Thursday, in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on drug control.
Marwa said the ongoing amendment of the NDLEA Act, when passed into law, will significantly enhance the organisational capability of the agency to curb the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
NDLEA boss said: “We have to acknowledge, however, the existence of the funding challenge, which is limiting our capabilities in various ways. Nonetheless, we are looking forward to some positive developments that will lend impetus to the attainment of our set objectives.”
He listed one of such efforts as the amendment of the NDLEA Act, which will significantly enhance the organisational capability of the agency in drug supply reduction.
“The hearing of the amended bill is making progress in the National Assembly and we look forward to it scaling the final hurdles,” Marwa noted.
While acknowledging the tremendous work of the IMC in the implementation of the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) 2021-2025, the NDLEA boss said the collaboration from stakeholders towards achieving the stated goals of the NDCMP is also deserving of appreciation.
According to him, “After taking stock of key programmes implemented across the strategic pillars in 2022 and 2023, I can say that we have recorded significant progress on the 4th National Plan (NDCMP 2021-2025) compared to previous ones. Under the Supply Reduction Pillar, our operations and offensive action led to the arrest of 13, 664 drug traffickers, of whom 3, 412 have been convicted in 2023. We recorded the seizure of 1.61 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, and we carried out the destruction of 206.5 hectares of cannabis farms.