President Bola Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for a second five-year term, affirming confidence in his leadership of the nation’s foremost anti-narcotics body.
Marwa, who first assumed the role in January 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now remain in office until 2031. His renewed mandate marks a continuation of what the presidency described as a transformative era for the NDLEA.
Before his initial appointment, Marwa chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020, where he helped shape national policy responses to drug misuse.
A seasoned military officer, the Adamawa-born Marwa previously served as military governor of both Lagos and Borno States. He is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973. His military career included key roles such as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade; Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma; academic registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy; Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; and later Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
He holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a Master of Public and International Affairs (1983–85), and from Harvard University, where he completed a Master of Public Administration (1985–86).
Marwa’s tenure at the NDLEA has been marked by high-profile drug seizures, the arrest of more than 73,000 traffickers and kingpins, and the confiscation of over 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances. The agency has also intensified nationwide campaigns against drug abuse, expanding public awareness and rehabilitation initiatives.
In his message of approval, President Tinubu commended Marwa for his results-driven approach and urged him to sustain the momentum. “Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse. I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones,” the president said.
The announcement was conveyed in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
