Marwa Gets Second Term as NDLEA Boss

President reappoints former military governor for another five-year term to strengthen anti-drug operations nationwide

By Abdullahi Yusuf

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed the appointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for another five-year term.

The reappointment, announced on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, signals the administration’s intention to maintain momentum in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and abuse.

Tinubu, in the statement, commended Marwa’s stewardship so far, describing the extension as “a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse.”

He charged the NDLEA boss to remain relentless “in tracking the merchants of hard drugs out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”

Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021, has overseen sweeping operations that resulted in the arrest of more than 73,000 drug traffickers and the seizure of over 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances, according to agency data. His tenure has also witnessed expanded public-education campaigns aimed at curbing drug addiction across the country.

PEACE Magazine learned that the decision to retain Marwa was influenced not only by his operational successes, but by his growing reputation within international drug-control circles.

Sources familiar with the process said the Presidency reviewed assessments from global partners, many of whom credited Marwa with strengthening Nigeria’s collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and regional anti-narcotics bodies.

Investigations also show that Marwa’s organisational reforms including the restructuring of command hierarchies, improved officer welfare, and the establishment of forensic and intelligence-driven units, played a significant role in the renewal of his mandate.

Born in Adamawa State, Marwa is a former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, and a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy. He holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University, with decades of military and diplomatic experience, including serving as Nigeria’s Defence Adviser at the United Nations.

With the new term, Marwa is expected to remain at the helm of the NDLEA until 2031, steering the agency through what insiders describe as its “most technologically driven phase yet,” with emphasis on intelligence gathering, border control, and rehabilitation efforts.

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