The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, has warned that terrorist elements and kidnappers are increasingly taking refuge within communities known for large-scale cannabis cultivation across Nigeria.
Marwa raised the alarm in Akure during a courtesy visit to Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the Governor of Ondo State, ahead of the launch of the NDLEA’s Alternative Development Project (ADP) campaign in the state.
According to him, the growing nexus between illicit drug production and violent crime has made cannabis-growing communities attractive hideouts for criminal networks.
He explained that the NDLEA established the ADP unit to engage peasant farmers involved in the cultivation of cannabis sativa and encourage them to adopt lawful and sustainable agricultural alternatives.
Marwa stressed that the initiative would not weaken the agency’s statutory enforcement mandate but would instead complement it by addressing the socio-economic drivers of illicit drug farming.
“This programme is another strategic pathway to tackling terrorism, kidnapping and organised crime, especially as these criminals now prefer to operate close to areas where illicit drugs are produced,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman further described Nigeria’s drug-use situation as deeply troubling, citing findings from the last United Nations drug-use survey conducted in 2018.
The anti-drug czar noted that an estimated 15 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 were drug users, meaning that roughly one in every seven Nigerians within that age bracket consumes illicit substances.
He added that Ondo State had been selected as the starting point for the ADP campaign due to its relevance in the broader national effort to curb cannabis cultivation and drug abuse.
Highlighting the agency’s recent achievements, Marwa disclosed that the NDLEA secured the conviction of 128 drug barons over the past five years. Within the same period, he said, the agency seized more than 15,000 tonnes of illicit drugs nationwide, with cannabis sativa accounting for over 75 per cent of the total haul.
He reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to combining enforcement, prevention and development-driven strategies to reduce drug supply, cut demand and weaken the criminal ecosystems sustained by illicit drug economies.