Marwa Seeks Continued US Support, Warns Of Security Gaps

By Omoyeni Ojeifo

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig.- Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa, has urged the United States to maintain or increase its assistance to the agency, warning that any withdrawal could create security gaps for criminal networks and terrorist groups to exploit.

Marwa made the appeal on Tuesday during a visit by the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, Michael Gonzales, to the NDLEA national headquarters.

He described the partnership between the NDLEA, the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the US Drug Enforcement Administration as a shared investment in the security of both countries.

According to him, the assistance had strengthened the agency’s forensic and chemical analysis, professional training, investigative and financial-crime capabilities, as well as equipment maintenance.

He warned that drug traffickers, arms dealers and terrorists continued to cooperate across national borders, requiring governments to sustain joint efforts against transnational criminal networks.

“Crime has no borders, and neither does the threat. The drugs we seize, the arms we intercept and the terrorist financing we trace are not separate problems,” he said.

Marwa cited the dismantling of four methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexican cartels in Ogun, Oyo, Enugu and Ebonyi states as evidence of the threat posed by international drug trafficking networks.

“The discoveries indicated an attempt to turn Nigeria into a manufacturing hub for methamphetamine destined for international markets,” he noted.

He linked the alleged expansion of cartel operations into Nigeria to intensified US pressure on drug-trafficking networks operating in the Western Hemisphere.

The NDLEA chairman also disclosed that the agency had arrested 96,157 drug offenders, including 250 drug barons, seized more than 15.8 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs and secured 16,691 convictions in five years.

Marwa urged the US official to convey his appeal to Washington, saying the assistance should be maintained, if not increased, as both countries confront transnational criminal organisations.

In his remarks earlier, Gonzales commended the agency’s operational successes, citing the four methamphetamine laboratory busts recorded in 2026 as evidence of intelligence-led investigations and effective cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

According to him, the international drug trade required sustained coordination across national borders, adding that narcotics trafficking had significant consequences for communities in both Nigeria and the United States.

Gonzales maintained that the US partnership with Nigeria had included training and equipment support, reflecting more than four decades of INL cooperation with countries around the world.

He warned that pressure on cartels in the Western Hemisphere could redirect drug-trafficking routes towards Africa and onward to Europe and Oceania.

Gonzales also highlighted the transition from plant-based drugs to synthetic substances, which he said were harder to detect and more deadly, and called for sustained action against transnational criminal organisations and their financial networks.