Tuesday, August 18, 2026 - The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has publicly destroyed 329,865.585 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs with an estimated street value of Three Hundred and One Billion, Fifty-Eight Million and Seventy-Six Thousand Naira (N301,058,076,000) in a court-ordered exercise carried out in Lagos.
The exercise, conducted pursuant to orders of the Federal
High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, disposed of uncontested concluded cases
and abandoned seizures. Of the total consignment, 246,864.535 kilograms were
seized by the Lagos Strategic Command of the Agency between April 2025 and May
2026, while 83,001.05 kilograms came from the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport (MMIA), Tincan and Apapa Strategic Commands, as well as the Marine
Command and a Special Operations Unit, all operating within Lagos.
The destroyed illicit drugs comprised mainly cocaine,
heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis of different strains including Canadian Loud
and skunk, ephedrine, tramadol, codeine syrup and other opioids, as well as
khat leaf.
Speaking at the event held at Navy Town in Ojo area of Lagos
on Monday 17th August 2026, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA,
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) described the exercise as a bold
demonstration of Nigeria's resolve to protect its people and deny criminal
enterprises the resources they need to thrive.
He noted that behind every kilogram of narcotics destroyed
lies a story of a young life at risk, a family torn apart by addiction, and
communities endangered by drug-related crime and impaired driving.
Marwa said the destroyed consignment represented more than
the elimination of contraband, stressing that illicit drugs weaken the labour
force, raise healthcare costs, discourage investment and drain public resources
that should go into education, healthcare and infrastructure.
He added that every consignment intercepted by the Agency
saves the country billions of naira in potential losses linked to addiction,
crime and social dislocation.
The NDLEA boss also linked the trade in illicit drugs to
Nigeria's broader security challenges, noting that drug trafficking helps fund
organised crime, terrorism and violent extremism globally, and that by seizing
and destroying such substances, the Agency is strengthening the country's
national security architecture.
He commended the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and
his administration's strategic backing for the Agency's mandate, as well as the
partnership of the Judiciary, the Lagos State Government, the military, sister
security agencies, international partners, civil society, traditional
institutions, the media and members of the public.
Marwa paid tribute to NDLEA personnel across the country,
particularly those serving in Lagos while acknowledging the risks and
sacrifices they make in the course of their duty.
Issuing a stern warning to drug barons, traffickers,
financiers, distributors and dealers, the NDLEA Chairman declared that their
days of operating with impunity are over. "Wherever you hide, whoever
sponsors you and however sophisticated your network may be, the long arm of the
law will reach you," he said, vowing that the Agency remains resolute,
relentless and uncompromising in pursuing and dismantling every criminal
network and its financial spine.
He called on all Nigerians, parents, schools, religious and
traditional leaders, and the media to become active stakeholders in the war
against illicit drugs, stressing that the battle cannot be won by the NDLEA
alone.
Speaking at the ceremony, Lagos State Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu said “the scale of what has been destroyed today, about 300 tons of
narcotics and psychotropic substances, is a huge and sobering reminder of the
enormity of the threat that illicit drugs pose to our communities, our young
people, and our collective future."
"It is also, in equal measure, a powerful testament to
what becomes possible when law enforcement, the judiciary, and the government
work hand in hand, not merely to enforce the law, but to uphold justice,
protect society, and secure a better future for our people. It reminds us that
when institutions unite around a shared purpose, the law becomes more than an
instrument of enforcement.”
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs.
Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, the governor assured that “Lagos State is unwavering in
its resolve to confront drug abuse and trafficking, and we will not relent in
our efforts to do this.”
In his goodwill message, the Comptroller General of Customs
Bashir Adewale Adeniyi noted that the “NDLEA deserves all the accolades they
have received from local and international partners”, adding that “It is not
just about the size of what we are seeing but about the scope of what has been
taken from operations conducted in our seaports, at our airports, at our land
borders. This therefore represents a very strong message to drug dealers that
they are no longer welcome in Nigeria.”
He noted that there's a nexus between drug dealers and
violent non-state actors because drug continues to provide the oxygen for their
crime.
“Bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, insurgents, terrorists,
this is their oxygen and so the destruction that we are going to witness today
is symbolic of two things: drug dealers are going to be losing investments
worth billions of naira and we are going to be denying non-state violent actors
the necessary oxygen that they need for their heinous crime and as we hope that
we suffocate them, deny them access to this kind of thing, we believe that this
will continue to be their lot. They will continue to invest and they will
continue to lose their investments. I want to commend the chairman of NDLEA and
in fact all our officers and men operatives throughout our commands who are
responsible for this”, he added.
Speaking in the same light, the Chief of Naval Staff Vice
Admiral Idi Abbas represented by the FOC Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral
Abdullahi Mustapha assured of continued support for Nigeria’s drug control
efforts being coordinated by NDLEA.
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